The Filipino Street Art Project is a documentary film and multimedia web venture aimed at exploring Filipino life and culture through the booming street scene.
Triskaideka caught our attention very early on for a work he did that was cartoony, almost pop art. It was goofy, colorful, and cool. Then we started following him on Facebook, looked at his past pieces, and realized how talented and versatile Triskaideka is as an artist. He has the ability to create beautiful, intricate pieces that relied heavily on fluid and detailed curves. Needless to say, Triskaideka is an amazing artist and a true student of the artistic method. We were super excited to sit and chat with him.
Go to our Facbook page to see Triskaideka’s album. You can also follow Triskaideka’s artist page on Facebook.
First off, tell us a bit about yourself.
Hello. I am Triskaideka. Freelance Graphic Designer / Illustrator / Artist from Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines. I am a graduate of Fine Arts in Advertising at Far Eastern University. I’m just a normal dude who loves to draw all day, listen to good music, drink coffee, people watch, and get tattooed. I love streetwear culture, graphic design and, of course, art.
And what about your name.
I use the moniker Triskaideka which means “thirteen” in Greek because i was born Friday the 13th of March. According to superstitions it is an unlucky number that brings bad luck, which I strongly disagree with.
What do you do now for work and for fun? What drives your professional career and what are your hobbies?
Right now I’m working with my buddy Randy Constantino as a graphic designer / illustrator for Hideout Studio here in Bacoor, Cavite. We focus is on album art, band logos and identity, tee graphics, canvas works, custom tattoo designs and any freehand illustration.
I am also working as Creative Head for streetwear brand TIGASOUTH CLOTHING, with which I am responsible for t-shirt designs and advertising collaterals for the brand.
I am a founding member of Cavity Collective. I do street art because I think it is one of the most beautiful things that I can do: contribute to my country as an artist without expecting anything in return. Also, I’m just really enjoying working with my fellow artists.
How did you first get into art, and particularly, street art?
Ever since I was a kid I’ve really loved to draw. I remember I used to draw a lot on the back pages of my notebook, even during class. That used to make my teacher so mad at me. Sometimes I wouldn’t pay attention to a whole class and instead just focused on what I was doing in my notebook.
Before I got into street art I used to doodle on walls using only pen markers, but that was just trial and error. One of my friends told me I could doodle on the walls in his room and I just gave it a try and eventually fell in love with it.
Blic, my fellow brother in Cavity Collective, and also the man responsible for the creation of the group, influenced me to do street art. At first it was so hard. I mean in the sense that I’m not really fast enough to make large pieces and, at that time, I wasn’t really familiar with the materials we used. I was just having fun back then.
From late 2009 to Early 2010 was the point when I started to meet friends and fellow artists who also fell in love with doing street art, and who did it for the love of it. Way back then we would do live art sessions at gigs in our hometown, you know, just to hang out with our friends and paint or doodle on walls or wood panels, just exchanging ideas.
For me, street art really pushed me to be what I am today in terms of having self-confidence and belief in my skills and abilities as an artist. I believe the real essence of being an artist is to be happy with his or herself and what he or she really wants to do. In other words, self-fulfillment / satisfaction; to know in your heart that you are happy and what you really want. I am so blessed and grateful to have met such friends and fellow artists. That serves as inspiration in my everyday life and allows me to push through and live in this creative environment.
Why do you make the artworks that you do? What motivates you?
Hmm…to be honest, I do what just came into my head, using my character. Or sometimes I’m experimenting with style or character just to explore and try new things.
I think my works fall into pop art, but it doesn’t really matter to me what the genre or style is. What really matters most is that i enjoy and love what I do. I don’t really care if people will like it or not. Personal struggles, life challenges, optimistic people, and my family and closest friends that do art. These are my greatest motivations in life.
Everyday I wake up and do everything I can to maximize my time and be productive. I must say that it’s been tough and very hard to stay in this field. You really need to keep working hard and pushing through to survive, and yet I appreciate everything that has come along the way. I really believe that hard work really pays off.
This is really basic, but if you love what you do you will realize how blessed you are that you found your niche, and all you have to do is just keep doing it and enhance it everyday. Stay hungry everyday and excrete your creative juice.
What messages are you trying to convey? What stories are you trying to tell? Who are you trying to reach and why?
Most of my works try to convey optimism in life, and to somehow give a smile to the people that will see it. Sometimes I don’t know. I just paint what comes to my mind without restriction.
Most of my works are based on my personal experiences that sometimes serves as my outlet, my therapy, after days of hard work, whether I’m working in front of my computer doing graphic design or doing other freelance works. Im not really trying to reach anyone at all. I just leave it to the people to make their own interpretation of my works. That makes it more interesting to me.
How would you characterize your style?
I’m not really good categorizing my style, but I really love doing thick and thin lineweights in my works. It gives me a feeling of satisfaction every time I paint.I’m heavily influenced by different artists and illustrators around the world.
I really love the works of Sheryo, Hellofreaks, Richey Beckett, Drew Millward, Angryblue, Alex Pardee, Craola Simkins, 123 Klan, Aryz, Peachbeach, DXTR and far too many more to mention.I think I am just starting to know more about myself and my “style.” Ever since I started it has been a learning process.
Thanks Triskaideka.
Watch TIGASOUTH’s videos (like the one below) on Youtube.
