Five questions for five flicks 

Featured artist - SHINE

SHINE is a graffiti writer from Newcastle NSW. He is a member of MIA crew and has caught our attention with his classic sharp style and banging colour schemes so we had to track him down for a quick chat, find out a bit more about him and to ask for his favourite five flicks.

Instagram@enishmia

1. What got you into graffiti?

When I was 6 Newcastle was covered in graffiti and my old man used to take me for walks past them because it would shut me up for a few hours.
I asked him who were the people doing these paintings to which he replied "Bad people, son"
Being the 80's I associated 'Bad People' with Punks so I used to ask him to take me to see the Punk Writing haha.
I did my first tag with paint back in 95 but only really started focusing on outlines and piecing in 2007.

2. How would you describe your style?

I'd describe my style as very traditional and balanced. I love painting with different people because they always show me different tricks, whether it be a new way to fade or different ways to fill etc. 

3. Do you have a good chase story?

I've been pretty lucky in a sense when it comes to being noticed.
I was drinking with a friend for hours one afternoon and we thought it would be a good idea to go for a bomb. (As most writers do haha)
There was a roller door (I love roller doors haha) up the road that had just been buffed but had previously been a stay up spot. Asked my mate to look out whilst I went about the task. Got the first set done and was just about to start on the second set when he goes flying past me. Before I knew what was going on a I got hit across the back by what I assumed was a cricket bat. The dudes ran off up the road. I picked my friend up who had a pretty bad cut on his face and we ran the opposite direction. Got around the corner, ditched the tins and kept walking. Cops pulled us up a few streets later and i told them we were walking home because we were cactus drunk and ran out of cash.
Woke up the next morning in so much pain with a shiner covering 3/4 of my back.
Good times!

4. What is the Newcastle graff scene like these days, are there plenty of places to paint?

The Newcastle scene is still quite active in a sense. Lots of younger guys are getting busy and there's always something to look at. As far as spots go I don't really venture away from my local these days. There aren't too many spots available to paint anymore and the spots that are available I couldn't be bothered painting them.

5. What motivates you to keep painting?

My motivation is drawn from my close friends, family and crew. The guys from THS and MIA are really supportive and aren't afraid to tell me if something sucks haha, but, they always push me to develop my style and try new things.
Big ups to Puke, Jiesk, Tuns, Dewsa, Finka, Sekt, Pick, Miles, Sonik, Ripls, Tisk, The AMF crew, THS Crew and my family.

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