HELLO ANDREW AND A WARM WELCOME TO THE 4BYSIX FAMILY. WE ARE EXCITED TO COLLABORATE WITH  YOU AND HEAR MORE ABOUT THE WORK YOU MADE.  

TO BEGIN, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR ART PRACTICE IN YOUR OWN WORDS AND WHAT YOU HOPE  REMAINS WITH A VIEWER AFTER THEY ENCOUNTER YOUR WORK? 

My work is figurative based. My work showcase the every day cultural underdogs. Often  times they are overlooked and not given the platform for someone to appreciate their craft.  Growing up to immigrant parents who worked day and night to provide, I just want to give all  the working class who are overlooked their flowers.  

YOUR WORK SITS BETWEEN INHERITED KHMER CULTURAL MEMORY AND THE URBAN VISUAL LANGUAGE OF  LOS ANGELES. HOW DO YOU PERSONALLY DECIDE WHEN A PIECE SHOULD LEAN MORE TOWARD  ANCESTRAL, SPIRITUAL IMAGERY VERSUS CONTEMPORARY URBAN INFLUENCES?

I like to combine all of my likes and blend it together. I grew up in LA most of my life. I came  here when I was 3-4 years old, so that's all I really know. I think growing up here made me not  really want to include any LA scenes in my work. I became fascinated with the landscapes  overseas because everything was new to me. I combine that with my uprising living in LA.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC IMPRESSIONIST OR POST-IMPRESSIONIST ARTISTS WHO HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR  VISUAL LANGUAGE AND IF SO, HOW HAVE YOU ADAPTED THOSE INFLUENCES INTO YOUR OWN  CONTEMPORARY STYLE?  

I would have to say Van Gogh. I just love his mark makings. I try to use my brush as a well  designed mark making tool and not just for blending or painting. I'm always thinking about how  to design my marks because of him. I have adapted a way that I really like now. You won’t  be able to see from a screen but if you ever look up closely they have a pattern to them  whenever I include marks.  

AS YOU OFTEN PRODUCE MURALS WHICH TOUCH UPON LIVED EXPERIENCES OF DISPLACEMENT WHILST  CONTRIBUTING TO PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY, DID YOU FEEL A CONNECTION TO  4BYSIX’S INITIATIVE TO USE REPURPOSED MATERIALS WITHIN THE ARTS?  

Yes, That’s what drew me into this project. I love the idea of working on repurposed  materials and making them into a piece of art. For me that answer became an easy yes because we were all on the same page.  

WHEN WORKING ON 4BYSIX’S UNCONVENTIONAL CANVAS MADE OF LORRY TARPAULIN, CAN YOU TELL US  HOW YOU FOUND THE EXPERIENCE AND IF THE MATERIAL’S HISTORY AND/OR SURFACE SPARKED ANY  INSPIRATION TOWARDS THE FINAL PAINTING?

I had a little problem painting with acrylic first. Mainly because I tend to work more like a  wash in the beginning stages. Since the surface is smoother I had to lay down a gesso, but  it was still hard for the medium to adhere. That’s when I knew I had to pull out the spray  paints. It was fun to try the medium again and it adhered nice and smoothly to the surface.  I ended up using some acrylic as an overlay and made sure to spray a varnish over it so  everything could have the same finish and made it more durable.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THIS NEW PIECE, IS THERE A SPECIFIC MEMORY OR DREAM YOU’RE  VISUALISING?  

For this piece I wanted to create a character and started drawing when I first picked up spray  paint. I haven’t used spray paint in about a decade so when I decided to go the spray can  route it was kind of like muscle memory kicked in. I wanted to do a character that started my  Creative journey. From this one face I spawned off to 1000’s versions of him and his  family.  

WHEN YOU APPROACH A NEW WORK WITH THOSE EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS IN MIND, HOW DO YOU  BALANCE CONVEYING THE MESSAGE ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY WITH PRESERVING THE OPEN-ENDED,  DREAMLIKE QUALITY OF YOUR IMAGERY?

Early on in my career I started off by becoming a landscaper painter. I would always travel  the world and the first thing I would bring with me before clothes was my travel paint set. I  documented 10+ sketchbooks with purely landscapes from all over. One thing that always  stuck with me was my hopes that these beautiful scenic places be kept as is and with the least trace of human trash or development. I feel like the best thing I could do as an artist is  to document the beauty of the world and preserve it that way. With my studio work I don’t  often have a specific place or location in mind all the time. But it is heavily inspired by all the  places where I sat and drew for hours on end.  

HOW OFTEN DOES ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS FEED INTO YOUR ART PRACTICE, AND DOES IT  INFLUENCE THE SUBJECTS AND/OR MATERIALS YOU CHOOSE TO EXPLORE?  

To be honest I haven’t really thought about it till I had my kids. Now I am constantly thinking  about the future and how it looks like for them. How can I do my part and better the  environment for them. I can say that I completely changed in my living situation and maybe  it subconsciously peeked into my work.  

FINALLY, CAN YOU TELL US HOW LIFE IN THE STUDIO HAS BEEN FOR YOU RECENTLY? CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT  ANY NEW AND EXCITING PROJECTS YOU ARE WORKING TOWARDS?

Right now I am really enjoying creating my new body of work. Painting for so long I always  want to figure out new forms of creativity so I don’t burn myself out with painting. I have  been doing woodworking, stain glass, and mosaics to always learn and figure out the craft.  We bought a home in 2021 and I’ve been loving building in that home. I did a mosaic wall in  2020 and thought to myself why couldn’t I just do bathroom tiles to our bathroom. My wife  was open for me to try and ever since then I’ve been a diy-er. I don’t have that much time so  stuff takes a long time to finish but there is something special about designing your own  home. I have a big canvas commission from lax right now and I am planning on combining  what I learned while doing my home remodeling on the canvas.