Business
Sticker Graffiti Artist El Toro Stuck On Philly
Graffiti Artist El Toro is a popular name in Philly. If you’re traveling in the city of Philadelphia, you might notice the large amount of street art around every corner, particularly stickers. Since the early 2000’s, Philly graffiti artist Frost215 has been creating El Toro and posting him everywhere. He is arguably one of the first to pioneer stickering in the City of Brotherly Love along with Bob Will Reign. His presence has been solidified and now creates more than just stickers, including his very own pin that launched earlier this year.
The mastermind behind El Toro tells us about how graffiti has evolved and a few surprises coming up very soon.
How did it all begin?
I went to Art Institute of Philadelphia in 2001 for graphic design. I was already toying around with graffiti in high school, but coming from a small town in North Jersey I wasn’t exposed to the talent and dedication Philly writers had. I was excited to see so much creativity and style oozing from the walls. For 2 years I worked on my craft, studied Philly writers, admired artists from Europe and drew almost every day. I knew I couldn’t compete with these established writers in Philly. I knew I had to come up with something unique of my own. In 2003, I read Shepard Fairey’s manifesto about Phenomology and loved everything it stood for. I remember I was in class, I was doodling like usual, that’s where I ended up drawing the very first EL TORO head. As soon as I drew him, I thought of the name and I was hooked, I wanted to draw more of him.
Describe your creative process.
Draw, draw and draw some more. Walt Stanchfield said
“We all have 10,000 bad drawings in us. The sooner we get them out the better.”
What inspires you?
Everything inspires me. From a phrase I heard walking down the street, the music I listen to, podcasts, cartoons, comics, and pop culture. I try to take a lil piece of everything and then combine it to make it my own.
What are your goals?
My goal is to continue to make art for a living with EL TORO like my heroes: Jeremy Fish, Bigfoot, Flying Fortress and D Face. They have all made iconic characters that helped them be successful artists and now they just create beautiful works of art for other people to enjoy. I would like to create with that freedom and not deal with any financial responsibilities hanging over me.
How has the street art scene changed since you first started?
The street art scene has grown beyond what I could’ve ever imagined. With the internet and content being so accessible to the masses, the information on how to do things and how to achieve them has become so much easier. I think I bridge the gap of old and new school. When I was starting out, you really had to dig for street art pics, especially sticker art, in different Graffiti Forum pages around the web. There wasn’t much social media back then. I think my first page was a fotolog.com. It was mostly international users, so I got exposed to artists in Europe, Australia and South America in my early years. I wanted to see that same culture, passion and art work in the streets of Philadelphia.
What are some obstacles that you’ve come across?
There was this one time where a rogue police officer tried to bait me to engage with him online and off. I knew right away to get a lawyer and make sure my civil rights were not being broken while he was taunting me and seizing my works. My lawyer did a great job in protecting me and it quickly got dropped. I even sold some work to my lawyer and his colleagues. Plus, ended up in the front page of Arts & Entertainment section of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I think I still got a stockpile of those somewhere in my mom’s basement.
Who are some of your favorite artists?
I mentioned several above. Those guys are pros and doing their thing. My other favorite artists are my fellow crew members who constantly inspire, motivate and when needed tell the truth about your work. You can check them on Instagram: Bob Will Reign, UnderWaterPirates, slobnoxious, deelove, Downtimer, Revilo.33, etorious33, phillyticky, werms two, Old Broads, Question Josh
Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
I’d love to collaborate with Nickelodean, Cartoon Network or Adult Swim. I’ve always wanted to see an EL TORO cartoon!
What are some of your favorite materials to use?
My favorite piece of tool right now is my red pencil. It’s a Prismacolor Col-Erase 20045 Carmine Red. I sketch and doodle so much with these I buy them by the dozens.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is you have to me be self motivated. No one else is going to pick up that pencil, write that email, pursue that client or send that file. I don’t have a team working for me, it’s all me. If I don’t like where I’m at it’s simply because I didn’t push hard enough to where I want to be.
What motivates you to continue creating art after so many years?
Creating art to me is like an itch I NEED to scratch. If I haven’t drawn or doodle in a while I become a very grumpy person. I also like hearing the reactions of younger artists and how I motivate them to create and pursue art in their own fashion. That responsibility of teaching the younger generation has been instilled in me when I started with street art. I was fortunate enough to be surrounded with several writers that took time to explain what caps I should be using, what type of sticker I need and just explaining history of the craft. I like to repay that back and will answer anything a young artist may need help with.
Why did you move from Philly to LA?
Philly will be forever be my chosen home, but me and my wife had to leave it to get better work and experience for our careers. We miss Philly a ton and try to go back whenever we can. It has this gravitational pull on us.
What are some of your proudest achievements?
One of my proudest achievements was celebrating my 10 years doing EL TORO at Ps & Qs. Before opening the art show, I held a small talk to showcase 10 years worth of work in front of about 90 – 100 people. Seeing the sea of faces looking at me and following my story was very touching for me. Especially seeing my mom, wife, in-laws and friends in the crowd. I remember taking a moment, breathing slowly and really taking it in.
I hear you recently launched an El Toro pin. Are there any other products in the works?
I got something awesome lined up for Black Friday this year that’s gonna be black and gold. Can’t say anything more than that for now.
How has your life changed because of your art?
I took an interest in art since I was around 7 and it has been dictating my life ever since. Art is like my north star, I knew if I kept following it, I couldn’t go the wrong way. It helped me get into college, establish a good paying career, and it even played a part in meeting my wife.
What is something you would like to tell your fans?
- Keep creating art that you enjoy. If it makes you smile or laugh, keep pursuing that.
- Be Excellent to Each Other and Party On Dudes!
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