Fin DAC [itw]

We first discovered the artwork of Fin DAC during a street art tour in Vitry.
Then, we met Fin DAC during the launch of the book Vitry Vit le Street Art – (a must have if you don’t already) in Vitry. Artists who have participated in the book, were in Vitry for live painting and to dedicate the book.
So we had the opportunity to meet Fin DAC, and other artists like Liliwen, Ender, C215, Alicé…

StreetLove THE ARTIST

Fin DAC is from Cork in Republic of Ireland but he has lived in various parts of London most of his life.
« DAC stands for Dragon Armoury Creative – it was the name for my personal online portfolio. It’s also the reason why I sign my work with a dragon logo« 

He has been involved in street art just over 3 years, as he began by « chance or fate » He still can’t decide but he is glad he did it. « I don’t refer to myself as a street artist« 

When he created his first street art piece, he was old enough to have known better.
He is mostly working alone but he also paints with a few select artists.
He has exhibited in galleries, mostly in London but a few scattered around the globe too.

When is not painting, Fin DAC is a web developer/designer.

To promote his artwork, Fin DAC uses all the social media tools… As he is heavily involved in the web as part of his day to day job, he uses that knowledge to ‘cross-pollinate’ from one format to another. Check out all his photos on his FlickR page here!

StreetLove THE ART

He likes painting in the streets, but also anything that takes his fancy. « I don’t limit myself to any particular surface, paint or method of application« 
His inspiration comes from a previously unhappy life which is « the best source of continued inspiration a man can have« 

The first street art piece he put was on December 2008, for a ‘Pictures on Walls’ Banksy Print release. T-wat asked him if he wanted to tag along with him and they hooked up with Fark FK and Stickee. They painted in front of a queue of – don’t know how many – people and he was surprisingly not stressed at all… « It felt natural to me?« 

His artwork size is varied, in fact he lets the location choose for him.

How many pieces of art have you created?
Not a whole lot to be honest… I focus on quality rather than quantity

In how many countries?
At least 6 or 7… but all in Europe. Going global is possibly the next step

Fin DAC always has ideas for next pieces, it’s important for him to keep that fire burning.
I’m not one of these people who will paint the same thing over and over again… I would get bored way too easily. Some ideas see the light of day and others don’t. Sometimes that funnel can be a good thing but sometimes I regret not having brought a certain idea to fruition

Do your pieces work « alone » or « in a series »?
Right from the word go I was very into doing series. It’s stuck with me and I don’t intend on changing. I get more pleasure out of paintings that have some kind of thread running through them

His preferred street art style is stencils, but he thinks he does them in a unique way.
And with the stencil technique, he loves doing portraits which he qualified as very ‘fine art’ but he thinks that resonates more with him and possibly more with people who view the work too.
It’s an easy thing to understand even for the art-uneducated

StreetLove THE TECHNIQUE

Fin DAC doesn’t have a favourite support. He allows his work « hopefully » to be defined by what he sees in front of him.
« As a stencil artist I always go with something prepared, but depending on the surface/location/size I can paint that stencil in a number of different ways« 
To work, he only uses his stencils, Montana Gold and a few choice bits of cut card for detailed ‘spitting’ work.

How much time do you need to put a work in the street?
« The more time the better – because of the style of painting I do, I think it benefits from extra finessing. But I can get something up in a matter of minutes if necessary« 

Any artistic tips you can tell us?
« If you struggle getting stencils back in to ur portfolio: simply bring a sheet of paper or card with u on every trip. Line that piece of paper up with the stencil ur putting back as it stops any edges catching on the ones in the portfolio« 

StreetLove THE FUN

To paint, he always go with an open mind, a sense of humour and a steely determination to do the best he can for that day!

His favorite colours are Montana Gold Vampirella: dark, dark burgundy colour « that at first glance looks like black but it seems to take on a different hue depending on the colours it’s used with. Cannot do without it!« 

His artistic references come from traditional artists like Dali, Francis Bacon and Aubrey Beardsley. And street artists like C215, Conor Harrington and B-Toy.

In terms of music, he listens to about anything: from pop to hip-hop, acoustic to opera. And about movies, he can’t beat a good psychological horror.

Without fail, he takes a photo in memory of all art pieces he creates!

3 things that Fin DAC loves in general: Popcorn, sneakers and his life.
3 things he hates: Haters, arrogance and ignorance!

StreetLove WHAT’S NEXT?

Any new event coming up to tell us about?
« Nothing at all actually! His diary is surprisingly empty for the coming months. He intends on filling it with trips to Berlin, Paris and maybe Barça. But definitely Berlin again in October for Stroke Festival!« 

A message for the StreetLove team?
Haha yes I love u all… Keep doing what ur doing and do it with love!

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