Learn to spray paint

Making art with spray paint can open doors of perception to higher states of consciousness. However, knowing how to spray paint is not all you need to have this experience. Art, a friend told me, is in your way of interpreting life. It is a very different perspective from the mindset of the daily grind. A true spray paint artist follows the path of the heart. They are authentic! This has nothing to do with your skill level.

I remember one time I was painting on the sidewalk of a university. He was sitting Indian-style, surrounded by onlookers trying to get a better view. The audience was so dense that there wasn’t much room for people to enter my circle. While putting the first colors of my painting, I saw that one of the people in front of me was barefoot. For some reason they hadn’t put on their shoes that day. I looked at him and it occurred to me to surprise him using his foot on my painting. At that point, I just grabbed his bare foot and put it right in my fresh paint! Fortunately it was fun for the audience and the man accepted my crazy idea in a good way.

This kind of spontaneous creativity is what I think really fuels the art of spray painting, or aerosolgraphy. I love expressive moments, moments when we go out of our way and let the great spirit paint through us. Being in the moment is more important to me than knowing how to spray paint perfectly.

It is necessary to cultivate this sense of now and, at the same time, it is also essential to learn to be very practical. We must, as the Boy Scouts say, “be prepared.” One way to prepare is to make sure you have the supplies and tools you will need with you, but without the extra stuff to weigh you down.

When I go out to perform at a fair or in a nearby square, I bring some important things. I carry a solid folder in which all my paintings and papers go. I bring my newspaper, already torn and ready to paint. I have a thin piece of wood to paint on. I put my spray paint cans in a backpack that I can easily carry, I only carry the colors that I plan to wear. I can put my palette knives, plates, paintbrushes, and a little music player in that same backpack. Music is important because it helps the crowd participate while I work and creates fun moments of fascination for everyone. We can all forget the everyday and go into the magic of the art of spray paint together. I bring a lamp with me if I am going to do my show at night. You can also figure out how to spray paint under a lamppost if it is bright enough and you have chosen your lamppost carefully, preferably the night before. I carry a large piece of red cloth to spread on the sidewalk and display my spray paints. If the space is small, I can fold the canvas and display some of the paintings against a nearby wall.

I have traveled extensively through Mexico, the United States, Europe and more, believing that it is possible to work for myself as an artist and be the boss of my own life and time. This was my basic motivation when I started to discover how to spray paint, be free! However, my personal goal was not to become a wealthy person, so I have always sold my paintings at a price that the “man or woman in the street” could easily afford. In fact, if a person did not have enough money to buy a painting, they would often accept what they could afford in exchange for my spray paint art. For me this was not a problem.

There were many times that I painted where my sales were so amazing that I ran out of materials before finishing my exhibition. There were also places where no matter what I tried, I was not allowed to sell my work and had to figure out how to act first and then sell my artwork in another area at another time to interested members of the audience.

One of the first times I went to paint in the Zona Rosa, a tourist spot in Mexico City. I was a little nervous and had doubts that anything positive would happen. I arrived and settled in. In a few minutes I was painting and it was a great night, full of life and sales. There was also one person who took the time to tell me that he was very surprised by what I was able to do with a spray can. He congratulated me in a way that deeply touched my heart. He told me that there was something really valuable about me that he felt communicated much more than just a piece of art. In his eyes, I was interesting and spiritual. I didn’t feel that way inside, especially that day! But he helped me feel more confident in my spray paint job. It was just what I needed to get on my way.

Just two or three days later, he was painting again with a large audience on the same street. I was in the middle of an image, but I never quite finished it. A police inspector appeared and asked if I had a permit. He didn’t have one, didn’t even know he needed one. He stopped my work and I had to get up to talk to him. The audience insisted that he finish the painting he was making and began yelling “let it finish” at the policeman. It was a big surprise for me!

Although people defended me, the inspectors did not change their minds. They left me no other option. I was so angry that I kicked my cans and they actually took me to the station.

Fortunately that’s all that happened. It took me some time to figure out what to do next and find a new place to work. This was a bitter experience for me. Pushing the limits of street permits has taught me a lot about our social system and the restrictions it places on our freedom.

So much has happened to me while I was spray painting the streets. I have had wonderful experiences connecting with strangers. I have met all kinds of people, from rich to poor and crazy to great. I have learned to be a warrior and to face a society lost in the routine and materialism of the day to day. It has not been an easy road.

I have had to deal with envious people who hated me for my success. I also had to deal with the police, inspectors and other authorities trying to prevent me from spray painting in certain places and sometimes earning an honorable living. I have learned to identify the bad apples that hold a grudge and to become invisible to them. I have learned that there are many good people in the world, but often that is not enough to live an elegant life. I have traveled extensively and seen places that I would never have seen without learning to spray paint. This path has been a path of the heart for me and I am so glad I got out and did it!