Interview with Canadian Artist DD Regalo

DD Regalo is a contemporary artist well used to abstract designs. He paints based on feeling, on the things around him, people, places and the emotions he feels. “There are no rules” he tells me and as we talk it’s clear that this is just the way he likes it.

We are in Great Art, the art supply store off the Kingsland Road. DD is live painting for the Unity exhibition in aid of Amnesty International. He is collaborating with another artist, Core 246, on a piece. It is one which will eventually be sold with the proceeds going to Amnesty.

Creative Soul

He is a creative soul that much is clear and a happy one at that. He greets me like a long lost friend but it’s the first time we’ve met. We had arranged to meet later in the week but as he was doing the live painting I thought I’d rock up and see if he fancied doing our interview a little earlier. He doesn’t bat an eyelid.

DD Regalo is an artist soon to be showcasing at the Roy’s People Art Fair. A start up focusing on artists and created by some good friends of this blog. I’d been intrigued by his work for a while. He’s also got a great story to tell. Originally from Canada he’s spent much of his life travelling. It’s clear that it’s travels where he draws a lot of his inspiration.

Video Interview with DD Regalo

An interview with the artist DD Regalo

Adapting

“Every time you see a new place and meet new people, you become a different person” he tells people over on his personal blog. “You adapt according to your surroundings and I love that travelling gives me the opportunity to access a part of life I never knew existed. Artistically, I’ve started using new materials, new sources of inspiration, and new approaches to process.”

But art is just the latest part in the DD Regalo story. At first it was all about the music producing hip hop and expressing himself in that way. As he moved on from that particular scene he found himself expressing himself in shapes and colours instead of lyrics and melodies.

Extreme Sports

Then throughout there has been the fascination with extreme sports and as we speak he tells me about his skateboarding past and then his time as a free skier. I don’t go too far down that line of questioning but I take it free ski-ing is the bit where you go off the slope and down the mountain proper.

But it’s really now about the art and DD has settled down in the UK after a life on the road. His work has been attracting attention throughout the day, a side effect and benefit of painting in public. It seems to suit him so I ask if he’s ever thought of doing anything on the street. As it turns out he already has and he’s been doing some paste ups based on his love of poetry and colour. Combining the two he’s been creating original posters to stick up around the place let’s hope we bump into a few of those soon.

Artist DD Regalo was interviewed in the Great Art superstore on the Kingsland Road in Shoreditch. He will soon be exhibiting at the Roys People Art Fair from 14-17 September 2017. To learn more about the art fair also have a look at this interview from Roys People himself.