Spencer Dick

Artist

Philadelphia, PA

“I've always drawn inspiration from ancient religious artwork; stuff that's more symbolic of nature."

You've read his take on film, seen some of his work in our space, and may have spotted his peculiar mark on sidewalks and skate bowls around the city--Spencer Dick has one of the most unique artistic minds we know.

Growing up in a creative home, Spencer has always had an affinity for the arts.  He grew invested in drawing and painting in 2009, using Slayer and Iron Maiden covers as inspiration.

 "I was a big metalhead--I think having that soundtrack in the background led me to using a lot of really harsh contrast in my art.  Trying to capture the feeling of that music visually.  Even now that I've moved on from centering my life around metal bands from 20-30 years ago, I think that still influences my work.  

We were first introduced to Spencer's work at W/N W/N Coffee Bar, where he was the bartender at the time.  His intense style executed in strictly watercolor was immediately intriguing.  After a conversation (and a few cocktails), we challenged him to use coffee as a medium to paint --a style first experimented with by early Mexican painters who would paint with different shades of brewed coffee, roasting beans darker or lighter, to mimic the style of watercolor.

Just recently, Spencer's experimental mentality guided him toward the world of tattoo design.  He started playing around with traditional styles and plans to pursue a tattoo apprenticeship to expand his knowledge and bring his talents to a new dimension. 

Spencer's work conveys subtle influences from African mask-making.  “Each one represents such distinct, unique emotional qualities, and are rich in color, texture, and shape," and certainly nods at Basquait and Picasso in his darker, more emotional type of process.

As far as working with not traditional materials, for the kind of work I do it's not much of a hurdle.  Working very gritty and texturally, I'm always looking to combine new things in."