Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler B. Murphy.
Tyler, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a South African artist that had the good fortune to find Hip Hop at the same time that our country was going through a peaceful revolution. It was not completely without violence, but it was a lot less bloody than what had been predicted. Watching the reality of massive change manifest made me eternally optimistic. I grew up painting graffiti, skateboarding and exploring the new freedoms that came with the new government. I landed a job as a cleaner at a tattoo shop when I was 15. I am now 38 and I have had my own tattoo shop for 11 years. I still paint graffiti and skate to work most days.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I make tattoos, paintings and murals in a style that resembles etching or woodcut prints. The murals that I paint are large versions of the tattoos that I make. I then go on to make the same image into a painting with brush and ink on paper. The tattoos are the starting point, as with most tattoos the subject matter is a collaboration with the client and the artist. The ones that become murals are mostly inspired by nature and are made as pure adornment. It is a selfish and satisfying way to make things look better with art on them, people, paper and buildings. The early inspiration for me was from looking at scraper-board work bt the artist W. G. Eaton in the book Line Drawing for Reproduction, by Ashley Haviden. I enjoy the gentle feeling of realizing slowly that your eyes tricked your brain into thinking the tapering of the lines was different shades of grey. As the complex work gets easier to create the thought process will evolve and start to convey deeper thoughts. For now, I am still pushing hard to get up on as many walls as possible.
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
The lesson is to do. Talking about plans and plotting things out is worth less than actually doing something. Just show up and start. Your skills will increase with practice. Overthinking things can be counterproductive. Do not expect to be satisfied. You will reach your goal and want more. We are driven to create. Satisfaction comes in short-lived spells that then get overtaken by a painful drive to do more, even better. Embrace the discomfort.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I have 18 years worth of tattoos walking around on hard-working people in Cape Town, a good number of them are other tattooers. I also post my favorite and most recent work on Instagram @tylerbmurphy I have paintings and prints up country in a Johannesburg Gallery, @greyscalegallery. If you are in Cape Town sometime, come and get a tattoo at Sins of Style @sinsofstyle. We can collaborate on an image that you can one day share with a building.
Contact Info:
- Address: 37 Barrack Street
Zonnebloem Cape Town
South Africa - Website: Sinsofstyle.com
- Phone: +27826573973
- Email: sinsofstyletattoo@gmail.com
- Instagram: @tylerbmurphy
Image Credit:
Danielle Clough, Tyler B. Murphy
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