LAURIE VINCENT SPEAKS TO TD. 

Laurie Vincent is mostly known as the crazy guitarist from the two piece British punk duo, THE SLAVES. He is also a kick ass painter, tattooist and fashion brand designer. 

Here at TD we needed to hear from such a creative individual. Here's our interview from earlier this year....

I think I idolise my friends and family more than anything. My parents showed me how to work hard to achieve whatever you want.
Current musical idols would include Die Antwoord. Their attitude to creativity is perfect. I think everyone can learn a lot from them its so important to have creative control in every aspect of your work and they are a great example of this. I love Tim armstrong from Rancid.
Artistically I love Raymond Pettibon, Blu, Barry mcgee, Wes lang and recently Danny fox too.

Your painting work is contemporary and bright. The themes seem to be mixed imagery that people will recognise mainly from a consumers perspective. Is there any messages/stories behind them like the songs you have in your band, Slaves?What has inspired your painting techniques?

I started just painting simple everyday things that everybody recognised and had a relationship with. Ive become really interested with peoples interactions with mundane things that appear worthless. Pot plants, carrier bags, seagulls, fruit. The everyday mundane being the focus of my work. Recently i have started to tell more stories through my art. I like to leave them to be seen by the viewer though. I don't think its my place to tell anyone what to see in a piece of art. It should always be the viewers right to make their own story up as to what the piece says.

I've noticed you sell your paintings through the "Young Lovers Club". This is also the name of your fashion brand. What is YLC?/ What motivated you to start up a brand?

I sell prints of my paintings but originals are something i've been holding onto. Growing up i have always been obsessed by clothing brands, bathing ape, johnny's cupcakes stuff like that always interested me because it included art in the designs. Ive always loved bright bold imagery and i've been trying to make different clothing brands since i was a kid. YLC is something i had going in the early days of slaves but couldn't afford to sustain it. Since we have enjoyed a bit more success i was able to invest in starting it up. I love making clothes that i want to wear. Thats my favourite part!


You are also a tattooist. How long have you been tattooing for and how would you describe your style?

On and off for 3 years. Thats a hard question maybe somewhere between traditional and illustrative. I dont like to put myself in a box though.

With Slaves touring and becoming more and more popular (congratulations on the success so far) Do you find it difficult to find the time to paint, tattoo or work on your brand?

Its definitely really hard to balance your time equally between all the different things I pursue. Some weeks it works well and then sometimes it doesn't. hopefully one day I will be able to balance it perfectly.

Have you struggled at all with pursuing such a heavily creative lifestyle? / would you recommend a young teenager choosing their options to pursue in a creative path?

Yes. Its a hard path to follow and its not something a lot of people seem to do. So people warn you to get a good job and go to uni. I think you just need to have a brutish sense of determination. It doesn't get handed to you on a plate. You need to know what you want and keep chasing it un till it happens for you. One thing i wouldn't necessarily recommend is attending a university or college to study creatively. I think it can hinder a lot of talented peoples paths. You cant teach creativity in my opinion. It just needs encouraging and nurturing more.

What can we expect from Laurie Vincent in the future?- Any more hidden talents?

An exhibtion is my next goal. My paintings look a lot different in real life and id like people to be able to come and see them in the flesh. I'd like to make a cook book of some sort one day too. I think that would be fun!

http://youareallslaves.com

https://www.youngloversclub.com