We caught up with our buddy Nils Westergård, who’s now back home in Richmond Virginia, after a stint of travelling around Europe with his art. Here’s the low down on Nils and check out our interview below…

Nils grew up in Washington DC and now lives in Richmond USA. He studied painting for two months, then changed his study to film. While a film student in Richmond Virginia, Nils visited Australia in the northern hemisphere summer of 2013 and instantly became involved within the urban art scene Australia has to offer. After Nils graduated last May 2014 he was desperate to get back to his street art painting and began touring Europe extensively. His travelling brought him to Netherlands, England, France, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and of course Belguim, Home to his mother and his, well Known grandfather, Jos de Mey, an established painter in Belgium. You can say being an artist runs in his family.

Photo © Alex Stanhope

GraffitiStreet

When did you first get involved within the street art scene?

NW

I was into graffiti once I turned 13, I started doing stencils shortly after and haven’t stopped since.

GraffitiStreet

What influenced you to start using stencils as a tool?

NW

I was working on a stage at the time, and a kid a bit older than me brought in some stencils he had cut- I was just reading about Banksy and Shepard Fairey the night before and seeing it in action really made an impression. I cut my first stencil (a portrait of stalin) out of a cardboard box that week.

GraffitiStreet

What are you trying to communicate with your art?

NW

Thats a tough question. When I started I was very political with my work, but in the past 2 years or so I’ve moved in a very different direction. I started the murals doing portraits of my friends, which was an excellent supply of imagery to hone my skills with. But now I think I am working with images that emulate a mood I cant quite put my finger on, studying the unsaid things that manifest themselves in our body language. Im really figuring it all out as I go.

GraffitiStreet

Do you think street art plays an important role to communicate political concerns ?

NW

Definitely. Its an excellent way for the public to communicate with itself. I mean look at advertising, its basically the same method- a billboard and a mural have largely the same effect, with different intentions.

Nils Westergard – Committed

GraffitiStreet

You have started to include your friends as the subject of your street pieces, why the change from political subjects to friends?

NW

I mentioned this a bit earlier, but, my friends play a large role in my life- as I think they do in many people’s lives. I could carry a camera around and take pictures of these moments, and later look at them and realized it captured something special about the person.

GraffitiStreet

You have experienced a lot of places due to your travelling, does the vibe for street art change in different cities?

NW

Definitely. Its definitely just easier to paint in Europe, but every city has its own flavor and aesthetics that are inherent to it. If we’re talking about walls especially, architecture plays an important role. The wall I paint in Prague is going to look different than the wall I paint in Miami. The local graffiti is different, the scene is different. Im meeting people every where I go, and the way they do things is different everywhere.

GraffitiStreet

How is the urban art seen in the eyes of the authorities in America compared to europe?

NW

I find that in Europe every city has a place you can go, and paint, and not be bothered. Even if you are painting on the street in a lot of cities the police will just kind of tell you to get lost, maybe take your paint or give you a fine. If you’re painting a portait of a person vs. graff letters they’ll react to you differently as well. In the states its definitely just harder. Even wheatpasting can get you in enough legal trouble to be a major hassle in some cases. Tagging can get you several months in jail sometimes. I never really fear that in Europe.

GraffitiStreet

You embarked on a street art tour of europe last year 2014, did you enjoy europe and was there a particular city that stood out for you?

NW

I love Europe. I love how easy it is to travel between cities, and how much there is to see and do. I am particularly fond of Amsterdam, and feel very much at home there. My Dutch isn’t excellent, but its decent, and only gets better when I can speak it.

GraffitiStreet

You have finished a limited edition screen print 'Kaleidoscoped' which involved your signature butterfly, the print was your first piece back in 2009 when you used them? What made you decide to carry on with the butterfly as your signature and what does the butterfly signify for you?

NW

Yeah I used the butterfly when I was in high school for a painting I made, Kaleidoscoped, which we made into a print this last summer. I was getting more into street work, and needed a degree of separation between my name and the work I was putting up. I was also in film school, and was needed a title graphic for my music videos. I saw the old butterfly stencil and it stuck. Im not sure I could tell you when exactly though.

Nils Westergard

Nils Westergard

Nils-Westergard-Kaleidoscoped-Wood-Edition-1

Nils Westegard – Kaleidoscoped Metallic on Wood Edition

GraffitiStreet

One of your projects was to paint a london bus when you were over here.... what was the challenges for this piece?

NW

The bus is actually in Amsterdam, and a spot called Roest (rust.) I had some dutch friends that told me I should contact the owner since a lot of people paint there. He offered me the bus, and I had to take it. Its such a unique canvas, especially outside of the UK. The portrait is of a friend of mine, Inga, which was originally slated for a spot in the Jordaan district. It fell through right as this came up so it was a natural choice.

GraffitiStreet

Have you painted on any other crazy canvases for your art?

NW

I think the bus is the most unique, but Ive painted on some other interesting structures. The Cygnet Cinema in Perth sticks out, as it was just a lovely art deco building with this bright pink exterior… also the fence over the river in Plzen, and the abandoned building on the Navajo reservation. Those were just in wild places though.

Cygnet Cinema

Plzen Czech

Navajo Nation

GraffitiStreet

Can you give us a brief story behind the canvases you showed at the GraffitiStreet Underground show please...

NW

Hm, well as I said previously my work has very much shifted in tone. But ‘Underground‘ was an interesting opportunity to some work in the vein I started in. The ‘Slingshots‘ were originally wheatpastes I was doing when I went to Australia, some images from the west bank. The ‘FEMEN protestor‘ was a wall I did in Graz that I always enjoyed, and kind of bridges the gap between the subjects Ive been working with. The protestor being handled by his mouth, ‘Reasonable Force‘, was actually a wall I planned to do several years ago in Virginia, but was rejected by the owner as being too much. I was always fond of it and this was a great opportunity to do it. Then ‘Within‘ was an image I was saving for the Richmond Mural Project, and wanted to do it small scale first. Now its probably the favorite wall Ive done.

Nils Westergard

Nils Westergard – Reasonable Force

GraffitiStreet

Whats next for you ?

NW

Im heading to Miami after Thanksgiving for Basel again. And trying to get a wall done in Brooklyn before the weather is too bitter. I think over the winter I’d like to do another animation though. We’ll have to see. Im taking things one project at a time.

Nils is a exceptional talented artist and his certainly knows how to own a wall with his gigantic murals… we are looking forward to Miami Art Basel to see what Nils gets up to next… in the mean time for more Nils Westergard artwork check out our site here.

Photos courtesy of Nils Westergard