Buddy Evergreen Interview | Respect The Artist
My name is Mitch Kavalec, based in the Chicagoland area, and do art under the name of Buddy Evergreen. I specialize in portrait work, using spray paint and stencils. I've mainly stuck to the niche of painting music artists, but have branched out and done personal photos, pets, objects, and anything that people want me to paint in my style. I've been doing stencil work for about half my life, starting around when I was 13 or so but really honed into the craft these last few years.
Artist Name: Buddy Evergreen
How did you get your name?
Stupid story, years ago I saw one of those "what's your ____ name" where you match up the month you were born and the color of your shirt or whatever, and mine was Buddy Evergreen. Didn't think much of it, but when I started making music I wanted to use an alias, and that name kept coming back. To make all my socials consistent, I just decided to do both art and music under that name.
How did you get into creating?
I got into graffiti as a pre-teen and started using spray paint many years before I could even drive, and just fell in love with the art and culture behind it. As I continued to get into graffiti and street art, I started making stencils and I was immediately hooked with the versatility and style. I just took it and ran.
How has creating changed your life?
It truly just keeps me sane. In a cyclical world of just sleep, eating, work, life can get boring and feel stale. Creating has really just combatted that throughout my life.
Where are you from?
Geneva, Illinois. About an hour west of Chicago.
How did growing up in your neighborhood/city affect you?
I'm truly grateful for where I grew up and who I grew up with. It was definitely a safe spot but filled with people who have been through some shit. Helped me appreciate things and was exposed to a lot of different stuff that helped me grow.
What did you do to advance your skills/knowledge?
Practice, experiment, and absorb. Practice because doing anything repetitive is going to make you better, experiment to grow as an artist, and absorb other artists and mediums. Nothing is original, everybody takes inspiration from other people. If you're stuck in a vacuum, you'll be stagnant. You need those inspirations around you to keep going forward.
What does your current setup look like?
Got an office for all my stencil work, and paint out of my garage which has been great. I don't need to leave the house to work like I used to when I lived in an apartment.
Who inspires you? Why do they inspire you?
That's a good question, and honestly, it's all over the board. A few different big artists inspire me like Shepard Fairey of Obey, Dais, and Nils. All of them have a wild work ethic and really honed into their own styles. Each one is doing massive pieces across the globe and it's something I'd love to work my way up to. There's a handful of smaller stencil artists I follow who are super talented, and just seeing them create makes me want to get to work. On another note, the music artist Oddisee, and my buddy Tyler Mello (shouts Transitional Movement) are super inspirational. Wildly different sectors, but they're both super knowledgeable in what they do and are building up their own brands the right way. I love to see people put in the work by themselves and have success from it. Even though they're not artists, there are a lot of similarities on the business side of things that are vital if you want to be successful.
What is your goal when you create?
Honestly just creating something for someone who will treasure it. It's always amazing to hear that people love my work, and I feel like for most artists, you are your biggest critic. It's awesome to see people get stoked about the work and really does help push me along.
Why do you create?
I started off for my own enjoyment and wall art. I do it nowadays to keep me level and make some cash. Getting in a flow state is always a satisfying, productive experience.
What's your go-to song right now and why is it important to you?
Hm, there's a handful. Probably have to go with DEEP FUSION by LXST CXNTURY. The dude is a wild producer, I love listening to his music while I work. Sometimes I need that little push to be productive and his music definitely helps with that.
What is your dream as an artist and what steps are you taking to reach your dream?
Probably doing mural work. Since my art stems from graffiti, doing public work is always dope. But being paid to do public work that won't get buffed out within a week is even better. Just putting my own splash on cities would be incredible. I've started working on different pieces to start practicing murals, but it's a total different beast to tackle than what I'm used to so will definitely take some time to get good with.
What is the best advice you would give someone with a dream?
Get out there and do it. You can think and manifest all you want, but physically working towards that dream will give you so much insight on everything and help you grow into what you want. Network around you, build, don't be afraid to ask for help. Just keep pushing forward.
Tell us about your most recent release
Nothing too special, just working on a few different artist portraits that were commissioned, along with a few pet portraits and a personal one on top of that. Really looking forward to testing some new things out this winter.
Check it out here
http://www.instagram.com/p/ChVGP-AJ-h_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Connect
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/buddy_evergreen/
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