As a teenager, he got into graffiti to 'seem cool' — but the art of it 'completely enveloped' him

Vancouver visual artist James Knight's very relatable teenage desire to get in with the cool people set him on a path to a life as an artist.

"At first I was just kind of that impressionable teen that wanted to be considered cool to a certain group of guys," he says.

But once he got into graffiti, he soon found himself drawn to the artistic aspects of it — "the scale to the spots to colours to line work to patterns to all the history of the letters."

"It just completely enveloped my interest."

At first I was just kind of that impressionable teen that wanted to be considered cool to a certain group of guys.- James Knight

Knight built himself up in the scene by making connections. "I started hitting these spots to get some recognition from guys who I knew were connected, who knew where to go, and hopefully they would invite me along."

"And that's what they did, so the plan worked."

Art Minute is a new CBC Arts series taking you inside the minds of Canadian artists to hear what makes them tick and the ideas behind their work.