The first artist collaboration in the GRBG Made 6SIX6 art series is designer & illustrator Lou Barberio. This series will highlight some of our favorite artists from all over the world, as they put their own spin on the GRBG Made name, logo, and our slogan “Hasta La Muerte” in a limited apparel capsule with a new release every three months.
We had the opportunity to catch up with Lou and talk a little bit about his artwork, check out the Q&A below:
interview by Skull Boy “SB”
SB - Hey
Lou - Hey!
SB - What is you full name sir?
Lou - My name is Lou Barberio
SB - Where are you originally from?
Lou - I am from Mentor, Ohio. Around 20 minutes East of Cleveland.
SB - How long have you been doing this doodle thingy?
Lou - I've been drawing since I can remember, I've got some artists in the family that definitely encouraged me early on.
SB - What is "Los garbage"?
Lou - Los Garbage is the art/skate crew of friends that lived down in Long Beach.The whole thing started as a bit of self deprecating humor. A tight knit group that came from allover the place. I guess in Perú as an endearing term for your friends, they say "Habla Basura". We loved the sentiment and Los garbage was born out of that. The group had an outsider vibe on the Quiksilver campus. comprising mostly of DC Shoes employees from the skate an art departments.
I guess we were a little rough around the edges and stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the polished SoCal crowd. Basically had our own little island in the parking lot. Frequently slappying the curbs, smashing coffee, drawing on the tables, chain smoking, and cursing like sailors. living that Garbage life.
SB - what are you doing nowadays?
Lou - I am a graphic artist at Deluxe Distribution. Doodling up graphics for AntiHero, Real, Krooked, Spitfire, Thunder and Venture. I live in Oakland CA, with my wife and Australian sheppard Co-Pilot.
SB - Where do you find your inspiration?
Lou - I find my inspiration from all over the place. I try to consume as much content as I can. There's so much out there. I find it's also important to get outside in nature, and travel when I can. I find myself getting hit with an idea from the least expected places. Sometimes just joking around with friends will make me want to go home and draw something.
SB - What was the inspiration for the collaboration with Garbage Made?
Lou - For the collection with GRBG Made I wanted to do something that kept consistent with the monster theme.
i've been increasingly interested in modern folklore. For this collection, one that stuck to me was The Chupacabra which translates to "Goat-Sucker". The stories surrounding it are pretty gnarly and usually involve the killing of livestock and pets.The animals were found completely drained of their blood.
The description's of the Chupacabra are so varied it allowed for a bit of creative leeway to it's appearance. So in my mind, I went with a feral vampire dog. The illustration's cropped in tight on the face to show off them vampire fangs. This also kept some mystery to the creature by not revealing too much.