The Story Behind WRDSMTH
By ELLEN LIU
Being a writer, WRDSMTH has been writing screenplays, short stories, and blogs. After finishing his first book, WRDSMTH felt that he needed to find an active hobby because of the long hours he spent in front of the computer. Meanwhile, WRDSMTH was dazzled by the street art pieces he came across in Los Angeles as a new settler in the city from Chicago, and it was not long before the writer found himself venturing into the world of street art.
As a writer trying to become a street art artist, WRDSMTH confessed that there was a bit of learning curve, but the biggest hurdle was his doubt of whether he could make it. To WRDSMTH, street art artists were comparable to superheroes.
“The street art pieces appear overnight, on buildings and rooftops, looking so incredible and magnificent… I didn’t think I could do that!”
But the idea grew, and WRDSMTH soon built a prototype of his piece in mind: a page coming out of a typewriter, with words written by himself. This vision was so exciting that it chased away he’s fear, and WRDSMTH began learning how to make paint, stencils, and how to wheatpaste, everything about painting street art. The artist finds his learning resources mostly on YouTube. “I watched tutorial videos, interviews of artists, people would show you how to make paint, how to cut stencils… YouTube is such a great tool for learning.”
Photo Credit: @rhin0sb
In the very beginning, the creation of street art was quite personal for the artist, he did it just for fun and never expected to make a dime, but gradually, his works started to draw considerable attention from the public, “I always believed in my writing, but I never thought that so many people would resonate with the words.” Eight years after WRDSMTH started his creation, the artist became one of the most known street art artists in LA.
WRDSMTH loves taking strolls around LA and other cities he’s visited to discover walls and buildings. The artist, who’s also a writer, would always carry something he wrote, and find suitable spots for the words. Sometimes, the words are inspired by the wall or the way the sun is setting on it.
Photo Credit: Impermanent Art
When WRDSMTH first started doing the murals, his works were mostly illegal, because it was hard to get permits to paint on public buildings, but even after the artist has gained his reputation and given many opportunities to put his work on the building, he would still go out there and put his words in places that make him passionate, “You take the risk, and you don’t know how long your work can last, but that’s a part of street art, and it’s romantic”