The Captains Post: SHINE DARLINGTON.

Hey sorry about the little delay in posts
Slacker its true

Today I have a Auckland local to share with you.

He goes by the name of Shine Darlington (real name Simon Darlington). A name given to him around 1987 when he ventured in to Auckland graffiti scene.

Shines graffiti as apart of a production

Even as a kid he was drawing apparently he just couldn't help it. Being told he was one of the easiest children to look after "get me a pack felts and a wotta jotta and I was happy" he received much praise and encouragement from his peers which kept him practicing.

Shine

Then he progressed to graffiti. Spending many
years spraying his name "SHINE" over walls
and sinking deeper and deeper into Graffiti culture. A time he feels may have slowed the development of his art.

"you just fall deep into the culture, I had to break the chains so to speak, I had to start re drawing again without automatically do a graffiti outline/sketch."

In his 20s to 30s while working all sorts of average jobs he was doing pastel drawings for friends and just giving them away. Partially due to the fact he believed he could simply reproduce them but mostly due to his years of graffiti. Never getting precious about his art was natural and all apart of the lifestyle, "you do a piece one day and then the next it's gone".

So knowing he needed a change he got to work creating a new style for himself to chase. Mixing his previous years of experience he started using acrylics and enamels on canvas and board rather than spray and walls to create a style of his own. A mix of street art and 80s culture.

"I worked on developing a style/ a character. mixing robotics with human parts. I know it's been done before. but everything has been done before I just wanted to put my angle on the idea. I miss doing graffiti, I really do want to paint with my old buddies but it's like the Mafia I'm trying to get out but it keeps trying to pull me back in."

Shine/ For sale from his site

He enrolled at Unitec and graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Design in 06. With a new view on his art he saw the worth of it and believes it should be respected, If not by others at least by him.
We can quote the 39 year old artist in saying "my art keeps me young" which is a good thing as his works are influenced by his youth.

"many of my influences are from my days as youth, ie 80's television like buck rogers, cartoons and those weird wheel stickers.. graffiti became a big part of my life and anything to do with New York from style wars to beat street and hip hop/rap like PE and LLCoolJ"