Here is a new piece in the making by graffiti artist KAISY of DKH Crew painted with MOLOTOW PREMIUM in slovakian capital Bratislava. Colors in use: Loomits apricot, grapefruit and mauve outlined with TOASTs signal black. We took the chance to give KAISY some keywords to comment on, here is what he replied!
FOCUS
As a writer, I always focus on letter forms and how they connect to each other. I It is my goal to be recognized by my style– no matter what letters I might be using. In my perspective; style is the most important thing in graffiti. I feel that a lot of people focus nowadays on special-effects, trends or followers. However, for me, the essence of graffiti is found in how the letter itself is built and not so much on how complicated one can make them look. Good, clean shapes are the soul of graffiti lettering. The style of the letter is key! Colors become that much more amazing if you apply them properly after that.
WHEN ALL STARTED
As to how I got started; I used to play ice hockey during my youth. I remember bought me a book about the National Hockey League, from the U.S. When i saw all the refined graphic shapes on the team logos I discovered a new passion within me and I was filled with excitement! Shortly after, I began redrawing them onto paper. Later on, I would find a few pages about graffiti in Pop-Life magazine and this was the magic moment when all started–back in 1997.
Ironically–and this is something I am very proud of; today, I publish my own graffiti magazine, called Outline Magazine. You can find us on Facebook and Instagram, @OutlineMagazine. In retrospect, I am so grateful to my mother that she bought me this book.
WRITING KAISY
Before writing Kaisy, I used a few different names–which I would like to keep out of this piece. I was mostly focused on hitting the trains–like most of the writers from my country. After a few years, I decided to focus more on styles because i was never happy with the results of bombing the trains. There was a desire within me to paint bigger and better styles. I felt like I became stagnant at one point–while hitting the trains–that i did not evolve my style. I started with proper style-writing. I feel like that is when my style really matured. Kaisy is the nickname. A lot of people from my neighborhood and family called me Kaisy for as long as I could remember. It is a derivative of my Real name.
THE DKH CREW
I found DKH in late 1999 it was not just about graffiti but also b-boying. When all this first classic mtw wawe came to our country and to my hometown. Today there are completely different members some of us have our own families. Others are not very active and their affiliation is more about friendship. Most active times are gone, today. I jokingly refer to the group name as an acronym for “Daddys Know How.”
INSPIRATION
As an artist, I find inspiration all around me. Inspiration can come from shapes–which I am always imagining in my brain. I can not always actualize them–but it helps me stay sharp.
Color inspirations also found from all around me; nature, animals, color chart studying. My style of painting is classic–in a way; sketch, fill-ins, background and outline.As far as what is next for me, my hope is to finish the next issue of Outline Magazine and get it published. Additionally, I might work on a series of canvases, although, I am not sure yet. It is worth mentioning that at the beginning of this year, I already have done my biggest personal project and my best masterpiece: my baby daughter!
If is someone interested for my work, they can contact me on instagram or facebook fanpage.
I hope to soon launch my own website–but I am taking that project one day at a time."
Words by KAISY DKH | Jonathan Drexler