Tristan Eaton’s Wild Beauty at Primary Flight

December 17, 2009 Artists, Interview, Miami, On the Street

Getting Up in Miami with Tristan

After partially white-washing the image, Tristan retraces and pulls the subject forward.

Tristan Eaton of New York’s Thunderdog Studios was working last week in Miami during the Primary Flight exhibition with many of his peers and yet-to-meet friends. The show was an opportunity for people to show their skills, gain appreciation from a new audience, and enjoy the pleasures of a sanctioned wall.

“The background was wheat pasted, then white washed, then hand painted with enamel, brushes, markers and mop tops, ” says Tristan.

Brooklyn Street Art: How did you get this wall in Miami?
Tristan Eaton: I got it from my pal Books who organized all the artists and walls for Primary Flight. It was on Easy Street Gallery which was founded by Crome of MSG.

A Wild Beauty, Indeed! (Tristan Eaton)

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you talk about the inspiration behind the project?
Tristan Eaton: It’s gonna sound really corny, but I was inspired by something my Mother said about ‘Wild Beauty’. Before painting, I had no pictures or layouts of the wall, so I couldn’t really plan what to do in advance. I had to make it all up on the spot over the course of 3 days and hope for the best.

Tristan Eaton

Brooklyn Street Art: What kind of preliminary work did you have to do before getting there?
Tristan Eaton: I normally get my giant photocopies (for background) made here in the city then cut them out by hand at my studio in LIC. We prepared about 1,000 square feet of wheat paste graphics for this mural and general bombing and stuff.

Ron English stops by to talk and pose for a pic.

Brooklyn Street Art: Did you get hit by the rain or have other distractions?
Tristan Eaton: Yes! We had torrential rain on and off over 2 days. We kept having to stop and wait it out. Luckily it only rains for about an hour in Miami! On top of that you have legends like Futura and Ron English are just walking around town all week at Art Basel, so we’d stop to BS every once in a while when someone came to visit our wall.

Brooklyn is always in the mix. (Tristan Eaton)

Brooklyn Street Art: Are you satisfied with your final project?
Tristan Eaton: I think so. Working on that scale in that time frame, little things always go wrong. It’s not supposed to be perfect I guess, so I’m okay with a certain amount of messy mistakes. I’m most satisfied with the response from locals so far. Even if I could of done better, they love it!