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Hailing from Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, Christopher Weeden, or better known as SmurfoUDirty, is a New York-based artist who gained momentum in the past few years through his distinctive style of art.
Harlem born and Brooklyn raised, Weeden finds most of his inspiration from the Lower East Side.
Photo courtesy of @SmurfoUDirty.
“I’m an open book that’s mostly pictures. I’m an artist, cartoonist, painter, DJ, comedian and a steward of feels…and I also have a meme page.” -Christopher Weeden
Involved with art since he could hold a pen, Weeden describes his earlier work as contemporary pop. His love for art eventually led him to attend Manhattan’s Art and Design High School in 2003.
Art always came naturally to Weeden, but he is constantly evolving as he grew as an artist. “At first as a young student, it felt good to create and draw. Then I got older and saw the attention I got from doing portraits of people and doing their name in graffiti letters,” said Weeden.
Much of Weeden’s art is considered to be provocative, as he likes to incorporate adult themes into work. This creates a plethora of reactions from his audience. Some love it, others don’t, but that does not affect Weeden’s creative process. In fact, he welcomes criticism. “If my art is not invoking emotion then why am I even doing it?” said Weeden.
While art lovers observe Weeden’s work, Weeden is also observing and learning from his audience to create his next piece. Inspiration comes from a variety of places for this artist, but sums it up as “just life in general as it is today for a 29-year-old New Yorker.”
“My eyes and brains are like a big sponge that soaks in everything, consciously and subconsciously.”-Christopher Weeden
Photo courtesy of @SmurfoUDirty.
Much of his inspiration also comes from his younger brother Darius and his father who worked in advertising and design back in the 70s. He also attributes L’Amoure Supreme as one of his mentors.
Artists like R. Crumb and Big Ed Roth today stimulate a lot of his art. His work also features Disney and Hanna-Barbera elements but attributes his biggest inspiration to be his phone. “Think about it, it’s the first thing in my hand when I wake up, and the last thing in my hands before I sleep. I need books,” said Weeden.
The creative process for Weeden never stays the same. He creates whenever inspiration strikes, but he does stand by one routine: sobriety while working in his studio.
While the mind of this artist is constantly absorbing his setting to encompass into his art, Weeden also DJ’s, or if he’s not doing that, he can be found hanging out with @WCKidsNYC.
“I’m just trying to be out and be myself. Somehow it’s all creating art. Every day of life is thought, strategy, execution, and most of the time revel.” -Christopher Weeden
Photo courtesy of @SmurfoUDirty.
Weeden leaves his fellow artists with several pieces of advice: “Never stop. Don’t start off doing art for other people to like it. Don’t get discouraged because of social media. Practice your craft every day. Take less selfies. Try not to use a pencil. Treat it like a sport. Do not copy styles that are recyclable.”
To see more of Weeden’s artwork, check out his Instagram page.