I'm KEEGAN.

A multidisciplinary artist.
Connecting via LDN.

Origin

Early Life & Influences

My mum, my sister, and I migrated to London when I was 6 months old. We lived first in the East, then the North of the city.

I grew up playing SNES and PC games, hacking any system I could get my hands on, overclocking CPUs 'til they smoked.

Lurking comic shops, digging the crates for niche American comics and imported Japanese manga. Sharing fan-subs on IRC and BitTorrent.

A lifelong artist, I meticulously copied the work of comic book artists such as Todd McFarlane and Hideaki Anno. I got hold of a scanner and imported my drawings into an early version of Photoshop, creating my first digital work.

In the 2000s, I discovered the hip-hop sub-culture and began a graffiti adventure that took over my life for the next decade. Inspired by contemporary London graffiti writers like Panik ATG, and old-skool New York legends such as Futura, I had realised a passion for art and culture.

Graffiti Gonzo 

In 2009, I launched The London Vandal - an underground online journal where I shared my observations of the graff scene. I was blessed to link up with local and international graff stars, and publish words and pictures that resonated with a community of obsessives.

Nearly seven years (and approximately 2,000 posts) after founding the zine, I decided to step away from my gonzo journalism.

Late-stage social media was in full-swing, and the 'net was changing. So was the graff scene. I had grown, and was ready to to learn and experience more.

Taking a deep breath, I powered down The London Vandal's server for the last time, taking the archive offline. Only those who were there would remember.

Then, during the devastating Great Hard Drive Crash of 2016, most of the backup was lost for good.

But comics, graffiti and street-art had gifted me an introduction me to a family of talented artists, from a diverse range of backgrounds.

I vowed to one day join their ranks.

Circa 2010.

Current Practice

Being a culture addict means absorbing new information and references from a range of fresh, unexpected and exciting sources.

I work mosly digitally, particularly using vector graphics. More specifically, I use a custom-built Windows 10 workstation, a Wacom graphics tablet and Adobe Photoshop for sketching, then Adobe Illustrator for digitally "painting" final works as vectors.

A self-taught artist, my strength lies in a default drive to develop my practical skills. I experiment with different mediums including photography, videography, motion graphics, animation and 3D, and I still slap stickers and paint walls with the crew.

Self-portrait, 2018
Digital

The Mission Continues

I'm here to soak up knowledge and inspiration from a range of genres and art forms, but of course I'll always be influenced by the nerd and hip-hop culture and the sci-fi/cyberpunk genre I grew up on.

In recent years I have begun to study the art of storytelling and sequential art, which will allow me to deliver stronger narratives in my work.

Currently, my priorities lie in growing as a person and artist by developing insights around psychology, childhood, trauma, disorders, relationships, addiction, therapy and healing and infusing them into my art.

Studing art history helps me to develop my style, and exploring philosophies of Nihilism, Stoicism and Existentialism will allow me to inject hot takes into future works.

 

Connect

I share my work and meet people at pop-ups, and on Instagram.
I interivew artists and creatives about their journeys on YouTube.
You're welcome to come hang on my Discord server.
I (poorly) maintain a couple of playlists on Spotify.
Otherwise, email keegan@bykeegan.com or contact me here.