Interview With LukeDaDuke

LukeDaDuke has produced an image which is synonymous with recent stencil street art and is particularly well known to his flickr followers. For those who don’t know his work, LukeDaDuke’s dog soon becomes a friend which they are likely to see on walls across many European cities. LukeDaDuke has been kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

Click the link below to read the interview.

Where did the name come from?
The name is ancient almost. When I came in contact with the Internet first time, chatting online was the hot thing, and I needed a cool nickname. I later adapted it for my street work too.

What was your first street piece and how do you feel about it now?
My first street piece was a half finished throwup. I got busted by the police during painting… I was too drunk to escape. Later on, I tried stickers. Simple ones with naked girls on them and a simple tag.

You’re most famous for the LukeDaDuke dog – whats the story behind it?
The dog was created during some doodling. It was all round shaped and had no depth to it. It developed itself during a couple of days. A friend from a website I used to visit, vectorized it for me. It was then I decided to use it as street image… a dog leaving his mark on the street, I left my mark with a sticker of a dog.

What other artists are you really digging at the moment?
A better question would be what artists I don’t dig at the moment. Since street art and stencilling is hot, a lot of people just take a photo, copy it and paint or paste it in the street or canvas. I like artists who use their own work, not just a cheap copy. Originality is key. Doesn’t matter what style…

Furthermore, as an art teacher, I’m developing my taste in art everyday, also by looking at the old masters. I recently made a trip to Madrid, Spain, and was well impressed by Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ and Heronimus Bosch ‘The Garden of Eartly Delights’.

Are you working on anything new which you’d like to share?
I recently made a new friend outside the world of art and street art, and she’s inspiring me in new ways. She’s creative, comes up with ideas and I like the way she thinks. We make some stuff together, which we both enjoy. It’s totally different from anything else I’ve made the last couple of years (see below)… perhaps you will see more of it soon.

Furthermore, The Grafik Warfare, a crew I joined, is very active at the moment. The new website is soon to come (http://grafikwarfare.co.uk/) and reason for some painting action.