You may have come across his funky artwork popping out of the pages of his locally sold comic. Or noticed Kid Acne is not the only cool artist whose work is decorating buildings across the city. So who’s the new talent people are talking about? Why Phlegm of course! I caught up with the man himself at Sheffield’s grooviest hangout, the Forum, to find out what inspires his crazy work, what advice he has for budding artists and just why he calls himself Phlegm…

How would you describe yourself as an artist?
I’m a sort of an underground cartoonist more than anything.

What made you want to become an artist and did you train?
I grew up in the countryside with really crap schooling.
I suppose that made me want to be an artist more than anything. I got into the artwork as a way of escaping and had a pretty solid path all the way through secondary school to a foundation in art then a degree in fine art.

What inspires your artwork and has it changed over the years?
Comedians like Bill Hicks. Not really what u would expect.
I avoid a lot of things I know I like, like Robert Crumb and a lot of underground cartoonists from the 60s and 70s. They influence me a lot but every now and then I’ll indulge a little bit. I like the comic to evolve on its own. A lot of the mural stuff I’ve been doing is influenced by Art Nuevo and old Byzantine religious woodcuts.

You art contains regular characters, do they have any explanation?
They’re different ideas I’ve been grappling with for years, some really personal. I exorcised a lot of demons with the comic when I first brought it out.

How did you become involved in designing for manufacturers like Paul smith?
I’ve do a lot of exhibitions around the country and a couple abroad. People see your work and it sort of grows from there. It started with small companies, record labels and bands.

Why PHLEGM?!
I never intended it to stick. I was reading a lot about medieval medicine at the time. Phlegm is one of the four bodily humours they believed filled the body along with blood, bile, and puss. Pretty grim really but yeah that’s where the word phlegmatic comes from. A lot of my work’s about apathy, challenging the kind of people that are a bit brainwashed.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Probably painting a jet. That was absolutely amazing, because I spent all day sat in it pressing buttons. Plus getting things published and meeting some really good people and some amazing artists.

Are there any lowlights to what you do?
Probably sat for 10 hours a day drawing a picture for 4 days. That tends to eat away at you but it’s only temporary.

Is there anything you particularly like to work on?
Large spaces haha. I like derelict buildings and places that are run down. Splashing a lot of painted colour over things is something I love. I like the contrast and going over lots of obstacles in your way, because you can feel the space.

Do you think Sheffield has a good urban art scene?
Yeah it’s got better over the years; it sort of comes and goes. If you’re not in that scene it’s camouflaged. But once you get into it it’s everywhere. I don’t think the council has a good view of it. I think it could be appreciated a lot more if it was organised better. There could be more designated places.

Do you prefer to be more of a commercial artist or an underground urban artist?
It’s about values. Personally I won’t do work for companies that would compromise me at all.
So I guess yeah even when I’m getting lots of commercial work, I’m still doing exactly what I’d be doing if I was completely underground.

Where can people see your artwork?
In Sheffield? Massive RSPCA building, that’s a good one. The side of the Rutland pub, a couple of art galleries. The best one I think is the old sweet shop in Nether Edge, they’ve got a permanent display of my work. The comic can be bought from millions of places in Sheffield. Rare and Racy is one of my favourites.

What advice do you have for budding artists?
Stick to your guns. If you’re going to go through a lot of art education you will probably get shuffled around a lot by different people with different ideas and they try and push you down a path of what your strengths are and forget about asking you what you actually enjoy. That was my biggest problem when I was younger, deciding what was good and bad advice. Most of all enjoy it.

What’s your next public project?
I’m taking time out for my comic because I feel like I’ve been distracted by a lot exhibitions and things and I want to get to the grass roots of it. The only other stuff I’ve saved time for is to work with a load of skateboard companies just because I’ve been a skater for years. It’s amazing to see your own pictures on a skate board.
Gregory Kearney

listen to the full interview at www.radiowaves.co.uk/cube
www.phlegmcomics.com
www.myspace.com/phlegmcomics
www.phlegmcomics.blogspot.com