How did you get into street art?
I have been a fan of street art since I was a child. I loved visiting my local seaside town of Brighton when I was little and seeking out all the latest murals. I started working in Brighton when I was 16 and I would purposefully walk the long route to work to see all the graffiti and spot what has changed. After a few years, I set up my own little street art blog where each week I would document a piece of graffiti under the hashtag #GraffitiOfTheWeek. Through my blog, I got to know many of the local artists, one of them being my now partner SNUB23. He helped me learn to paint and gave me the confidence to create and make art. Without him, I would have never put spray paint on a wall.
How did you come up with the idea to add a mental health message to your art?
The idea was developed for a charity fundraiser competition raising money for a local suicide prevention charity. To enter the competition you had to submit a piece of art, I didn’t want to just submit just a random piece, I wanted to create something relevant. I suffer severely with mental health problems so it was important to me to create something to help and support others who may be suffering. This is where the idea for my “Happy Bunny” pieces began, when people are out on the street going about their day or walking to work like I used to, they might spot my little bunnies on the wall smiling at them, telling them that “it’s ok not to be ok” or “don’t be so hard on yourself” and this makes me very happy. Since then positive mental health messages have focused heavily in my work and I am working on new ones all the time.
We were drawn to Sprite’s art partially because of our love of bunnies- check out our fur baby Bento the Bunny!
What is your favourite piece & why, it can be your own or someone else’s. If you know the meaning of the piece please explain.
This is such a tough question!! My favourite piece I have created is probably the massive piece SNUB23 and I painted in Lexington, Kentucky. Not only was it the biggest piece I ever painted but I also had the most incredible time out there, the people were amazing, we made some lifelong friends on that trip as well as some unforgettable experiences.
My favourite piece by another artist is probably the Deih piece for Urban Nation, Berlin, Germany. I love Deih’s work and the composition, the use of space and palette are just perfect. And on what would be such an awkward wall to most artists, Deih effortlessly leaves perfection.
Who is your favourite street artist & why?
As mentioned above, my favourite street artist is probably Deih, I love his cyberpunk sci-fi style and vivid colour pallets. The stories his pieces tell make my eyes fizz. I was very lucky to meet the master in Miami a few years ago, I was so excited to see him I rudely grabbed his arm and started blabbering about how fantastic his work was. I think at first we scared him with our excitement. I would also have to put a special shout out to other artists who I love and am inspired by – China Girl Tile, Peachzz, Irony, Frankie Strand, Rocket, Julia Yubaba and Key Detail, Xenz, Kaybid, Hueman, Bordalo, Lora Zombie, Squid Licker, Satrxx and of course SNUB23
Artist: Deih
Where is your favourite place in the world for street art ? Also where would you like to create art next?
I think the favourite place in the world for street art that I have visited is probably Wynwood, Miami, the calibre of work and variety of pieces is just insane, Berlin Germany would have to be a close second as I love the rawness, dirt and decay Berlin has which you just don’t get in Miami.
Photo Credit: RoarLoud of Dasic Fernandez mural in Wynwood
I would love to create art in Japan, I visited Tokyo 2 years ago now and I miss it so much. I adored everything about the place, It would be incredible to leave a piece of art there which the people of Japan could also love and enjoy.
Bonus- Share a project you are working on or one you have that you would like to promote.
I am working on a few different things at the moment. In this current environment, it’s impossible to go out and paint pieces on the street, I miss it a lot already. I am desperate to put some of my latest pieces out there for people to see. Over the next coming weeks I am planning on doing some more process videos as well as Q&A’s and live videos to give people something to distract themselves with and maybe pick up some skills and ideas, so watch this space.
Thank you to street artist Sprite for sharing more about herself, all photo credit to her unless noted otherwise in this article.
Sprite is a young female street artist mainly focusing in the form of stencils themed around animals and positive mental health messages which she loves to dot around the street for passers-by to discover and make them smile.
She also works alongside her partner SNUB23 as part of a duo creating geometric and graphic Sci fi inspired designs. To see more of her art check out her Instagram and website.
Great interview. I love Sprite’s work and am lucky to own a couple of pieces of her art.
Glad you liked it, we are honored to feature street artists like her!