Artist: REQ

Req is a self taught, Brighton based, artist known primarily for his murals around Brighton. He started his artistic career in the New York tradition of spraypaint graffiti – his name in fact is a hangover from this period. In the early 90s he painted 'live' onstage with Norman Cook's band Beats International in many countries. In the mid 90s he painted on tour and for sleeve artwork for record label Mo-Wax. After a brief music career with Skint records and Warp records he returned to painting with a new aesthetic. The linear qualities of graffiti were replaced with a newer tonal understanding. Since 2005 he has produced many pieces in his new style which he refers to as 'Spraypaint Realism' and with supplementary pastel and printed works. Req's work is usually powered by his fixation with his Muse – a girl that represents his internal feelings of harmony and positivity. 'I don't think about my work as such. I just portray my Muse in all her glory, the way she uplifts my spirit with her inherent beauty. I try and in that trying my work exists. Perhaps not always perfect but I try to show you her through my eyes so that you might feel uplifted too.'

~ Ink-d