1. Tell us a bit about yourself….
I am an audio and visual individual. My home town is Chicago. It’s cold there, so I moved to SF. I met my wife Alice Koswara here and we make art together on a daily basis. I prefer analog processes to make things. Love keeping up my sketchbook with ink and markers. My current projects include a drawing a day (insta=hiericbro). When I am not drawing, I write weekly electro tracks on my phone www.soundcloud.com/nathome

2. Did you study art or are you self-taught?
Studied art in high school and design in college. I am always learning.

3. For you, what is the appeal of art?
The creative process is something that compels me to explore. I work intuitively. That allows me space to create different avenues to a finished piece. That keeps things fresh, I am always interested in what I will be making next.

4. What genre of art would you place your work? Are you a street artist, a fine artist or do you fit into another genre? Are genres within art even important?
I am an illustrator 1st, musician 2nd and muralist 3rd. For me genres are not important.

5. Do you think that street art is seen as an equal art form to painting or photography?
Yes, thanks to galleries like Fecal Face Dot Com, Whitewalls, Shooting Gallery, Upper Playground and 111 Minna. Artists including Barry McGee, Mr. Jago, Dose Green, and Mars1.

6. Can you talk a little bit about the character you create? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Inspiration is really hard to pin down. I’d say Dameon Soule, Alice Koswara (my wife), Mars1, Dose Green, Teebs, Goudron, Ganyan, Grant gilliland, Robert Hardgrave, ffffound, Star Wars, Mark Gonzales, Rodney Mullen, Herbie Handcock, Kid Koala, Trans Am and Jeff Phillips.

7. Are there any particular messages that you try and portray through your art?
Whatever you do, enjoy doing it. You will do that more and improve your happiness.

8. Having looked through your work, I am particularly impressed with the scale of your murals. What are the benefits of creating a piece of art on a wall as opposed to a canvas or a piece of paper?
Murals are a great way to interact with the public. I also enjoy being able to work larger. This allows me to stretch out a bit. I can fill whatever space is provided. My work will scale to fit.

9. How do you market yourself and your art?
Murals and tees help get the word out for sure.
I also post a new drawing daily and a new track a week on instagram, twitter and facebook. Also a quarterly newsletter helps update people that miss the social channels.

10. Do you think that education is important for an artistic career?
Yes, it is. It is important to know your past. You will improve from understanding the history of whatever medium you choose. Learning helps you grow.

11. If you could choose 4 artists to join you in a group exhibition with no theme, who would you choose and why?
For any group show, at least a broad theme is necessary. I’d love to do another Technical Difficulties show with Goudron, Teebs, Kid Koala and Grant gilliland. We all make art and music. We could have an art show/gig.

12. Would you ever consider experimenting with another genre of art such as video?
I am making music a lot more. We have some video and are working on putting that together.
From my experience it’s best to find people that specialize in video. I find better to tap into that. You get a better end result through collaboration.

13. What is your favourite image you have created and why?
This is gonna sound weird. Honestly, I have yet to create it. They are all valuable and influence what I am working on next. Right now it’s a live set I recorded at a local coffee shop last Friday. It will be released on nathome.bandcamp.com soonish

14. What kind of music do you like and does it influence your work?
I listen to a lot of funk, kraut rock, jazz, electro and hip hop. Although I usually have movies or podcasts on when I am working.

15. When creating a mural, do you plan out what you are going to do beforehand or do you improvise?
Prep is really important. By filling my sketchbook with a drawing a day, I have a lot to pull from. I sketch a lot 1st. That tells me what supplies to bring.

16. Do you think a piece of art loses its value once it has been reproduced, especially digitally as a print?
For sure originals have more value than prints . Prints are a great affordable way to collect art.

17. You sometimes collaborate with other people to create pieces of art. How important is it to make connections with other artists and is there a particular process you use to go about contacting someone you would like to work with?
Collaborations work organically. It’s hard to pin down the exact formula. Most times we already know each other. If a mural or art show calls for it, we work together on a piece. We talk about the theme, sketch and decide who goes 1st. After that, one artist finishes their character and passes it off to the other artist . After that we tie the background in to round out the piece.

18. Do you think that the way people can view your work, especially the murals you have created, as an image on a screen rather than outside where you were when you created it, hinder the audience from fully appreciating the pieces of work?
It’s always better to see a mural in person. Photos are the next best thing.

19. Do you know of any artists that you would recommend to be featured on this blog?
Alice Koswara, Martin Hsu, Andy Stattmiller, Jesse Ballmer, James “ganyan” Garcia, truevisuals and Max Eherman

20. Do you have any other advice for aspiring artists?
Keep a sketchbook. It’s good to have for resource. Make work for yourself, it will be satisfying and will have longevity. Mistakes remain mistakes only until you discover the lesson that is being taught. Keep looking for new techniques, it’ll help you grow. Find like minded folks, community is important. Oh and have fun!