You’ve seen it on your way down to the city, on the side of a passing train, and now even in your very own school. Street art, more commonly known as Graffiti is a popular trend among artists for it allows them to create an identity for themselves while also broadcasting their artwork. Cody Collier is one of those artists, inspired by artists such as Banksy, Cody took up graffiti and took advantage of his time in AP Art Studio, a seventh hour AP class for advanced art students, to practice his spraying capabilities.
The most recognizable piece of his is his giant canvas resting on the wall at the top of the art hallway stairs, that has been painted over numerous times, day after day. According to Cody, he wanted to show a steady progression of quality in said piece.
“I started the piece off by making it look purposely amatuer and gradually adding things that truly showed my skill with the paint can, resulting in what we have now” said Collier.
Cody didn’t start his artistic stride with the spray can, though, He actually started with a paint brush rather.
“My dad likes to paint, he grew up in New York and apparently it was pretty big there, So he taught me how to paint and he actually used to do graffiti also,” said Collier.
Cody started around eight months ago with a paint brush, eventually evolving to the spray can. The difference here is probably less than you think, For instance, just like paint brushes, you need to change the spray nozzle for different effects, You can manipulate your spraying to show different levels of thickness too, Just like brush strokes with a paint brush.
“I’m still learning, but I plan to keep doing graffiti for as long as I can,” said Collier.
Cody plans to never finish the piece, and that it’ll be a constant work of art, and almost serve as practice for other pieces.
“Not until I’m comfortable with my skills will I be done with that piece, It’s practice for future pieces and gives me an opportunity to experiment with different nozzles, cans, and paint brands.” said Collier.
