Troy Lovegates is a street artist with a look distinctly his own. After finding out about his work, I quickly purchased a small artwork (that still hangs on my wall) but that wasn’t enough. I wanted to speak with the man himself. He paints and shows his work all over the world, most recently in Brooklyn. I had the pleasure of speaking with Troy for a quick second:
The Rumpus: At what age did you start going out and making street art?
Troy Lovegates: I started going out and making when I was 15…or 25 years ago.
Rumpus: Any run-ins with the cops?
Lovegates:: Yeah, many run-ins. Lock up, fines, dramatic chases, hiding in trains, jumping rooftop to rooftop…hundreds of stories.
Rumpus: Where are you from?
Lovegates: Originally from Canada. It’s like a provincial fur traders outpost now except they trade Hudson’s Bay stocks instead of canoes and beers. It was the best place to become creative because well, if you don’t make up your own world then your stuck in the boring reality of Canada.
Rumpus: In the world we live in today, do you think an artist needs the Internet to stay relevant?
Lovegates: Relevant…the only thing you need is to love whatever you are doing. The Internet is just a nice place to get a compliment sometimes.
Rumpus: When you’re not making art, what else do you like to do?
Lovegates: Walk everywhere, long bike trips, travel, dive bars, forests and lakes, abandoned buildings, rooftops and beers—a million things.
Rumpus: Are you friends with any street artists?
Lovegates: I know some but I mostly paint alone.
Rumpus: If you could graffiti on any surface without getting caught, where would it be?
Lovegates: That is the thought behind every graffiti piece of mine.
