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"What is the measure of success for an artist? Some might say sales, some\u00A0say name recognition, others say a little bit of both. In 2016 though, eCommerce and influential websites have changed what success in the art world looks like, but when you're featured on certain sites, you're there.\u00A0Love it or hate it, the website Hypebeast has\u00A0the\u00A0pulse of fashion and culture. So when on artist is featured on there, sandwiched between a Kanye feature and a new season drop, it's\u00A0a big deal\u2014you're doing something right. \n\n\nFor Sydney Kay, one of our sponsored artists, this was the case. Sydney was kind enough to take set aside some time from hustling, creating, customizing, and going to school full time\u00A0to talk to with us.\u00A0\n\n\nThe custom sneaker world knows you as Sydney Kay. Can you give us a little about your background and how you got into art?\n\n\nFrom a young age I\u2019ve always been creatively inclined, but it wasn\u2019t until high school that I took a serious interest in pursuing a career in art and design. Actually, at one point I was certain on going to college for soccer, until I experienced a career-ending injury that pushed me towards what I\u2019m doing today. I gave up my athletic career at the age of 17 and instead found a passion for art. Now, I\u2019m 20 years old currently working towards a degree in design at an art school in Cincinnati.\u00A0\n\n\n\nFor a time, the oil spill effect has been a huge hit. How did you come up with the idea? What does the creative process look like?\n\n\nThe idea came to me while working late in my studio one night. Creatively I was getting burnt out from painting 30+ pairs of Wavy roshes when I decided to step back and figure out my next move. I knew I wanted to continue making more unconventional work, which is what led to the creation of the \u201COil Spill\u201D concept. I had a brand new pair of triple black AF1\u2019s sitting on a shelf, so I broke those out and started prepping. Unlike every other pair I didn\u2019t have a predetermined design, I just picked up a pair of shoes and started painting, making design decisions as I went. Somewhere throughout the process, the paint started to have this weird iridescent effect even though I was only using flat colors. It reminded me of the way oil reacts with concrete, which inspired the entire concept, including the name, packaging, and product shots. It was all just a way for me to push through my creative burnout, I never anticipated it to be as popular as it was.\n\n\nSpeaking of aesthetic, your trademark work is often subtle and monochromatic, but refined. Personally, I think your work looks like it would be perfectly at home in Dover Street Market as a display. What are some of your main creative inspirations?\u00A0\n\n\nMy aesthetic is actually a result of my newfound interests in contemporary art and fashion. When I first got into sneaker customizing I was just mimicking the big guys. Being a young artist fresh out of high school, I hadn\u2019t defined my own artistic vision, so everything I was making was directly influenced by other sponsored sneaker artists. I did a lot of floral themes, a lot of sports references, but after a while I started realizing that wasn\u2019t me. I knew I was doing something wrong when I realized that I wouldn\u2019t wear any of my own work. The Wavy Roshes were the first step towards my own unique style. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but now my creative inspirations lie outside of the sneaker world.\u00A0\n\n\n\nSneaker customizing is as popular as ever, but you've separate yourself by thinking outside of the box. For instance, you've been doing these really cool custom insoles, how did you get into that? What's next?\n\n\nI have many different interests outside of painting sneakers. Creating these highly detailed, graphically-driven images on insoles is a way for me to expand the media I\u2019m working with so I can utilize my skills in design. I\u2019ve found that it\u2019s a really effective way to depict a concept without jeopardizing the simplicity of the shoe itself. I prefer there to be a balance between art and wearability. When I say wearability I\u2019m not talking about the physical durability, but the functionality of the design itself. I would never wear a pair of sneakers with a hand painted, photo realistic portrait on the side\u2014to me thats not wearable. But there are other ways to get that concept across: through insoles, packaging, product shots, etc. I like working with more than just the outside of a sneaker, which is why I\u2019ve taken such an interest in custom insoles. I\u2019d like to continue pushing that and ideally expand beyond just footwear.\n\n\n\n\nYour work made it to Hypebeast, which can either be an awful or amazing site. How was the response to that?\n\n\nThe response was incredible, regardless of how you look at it. I got an overwhelming amount of both positive and negative engagement. Almost every comment on Hypebeast and Highsnobiety was harshly critical, but I sold out almost instantly after that feature. It inspired an insole collab with Footcanvas shortly after the release, which was a lighthearted acknowledgement of all the hate anonymously targeted towards me. I decided to have 10 of them made to send with every \u201CBy Any Means Necessary\u201D order.\u00A0\n\n\nHow did you turn customizing into a business? Are there ups and downs? Ebbs and flows?\n\n\nThere are most definitely high\u2019s and low\u2019s to turning customizing into a business and it\u2019s different for every artist trying to do so. I made the decision a while ago to stop accepting client orders\u2014which is a strange decision especially in the business of custom sneakers. It\u2019s completely opposite of the way every other customizer is running their business, but it\u2019s what works for me. Creatively, I can\u2019t function just doing client requests, so instead I make limited releases of my own designs. It\u2019s difficult to keep up when taking on 10+ orders at one time, but at the same time I get 100% artistic freedom and the willingness to work at my own pace without any restrictions.\u00A0\n\n\n\nLastly, any advice for the young artists/customizers/hustlers trying to monetize their creativity?\n\n\nI\u2019m a 20 year old struggling college student going to school full-time while holding a job and trying to run a business. If I can do it, anyone can.\u00A0\n\n(Source: All images courtesy of\u00A0@syndeykaycustoms)\n\nBe sure to follow Sydney at @syndeykaycustoms for updates and check out the website:\u00A0syndeykaycustoms.com\u00A0for exclusive\u00A0custom\u00A0work.\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://angelusdirect.com/blogs/news/angelus-direct-presents-catching-up-with-sydney-kay>