APP: Where does the name "Black Cat Tips" originate?
KB: I never have the best answer for it. I’ve always liked words and mixing and matching words. At the time, I liked the way it sounded. Years before I was making art, I needed a name for a website. I could have named it anything—I could have named it Bobby.
But instead I named it Black Cat Tips… it was just a crazy name I came up with. And now look, I’ve turned into one. I like the magic of some way some words work together. Almost accidental things: the way these things happen out of your control. And maybe I like the way your brain picks up these things and turns them into something else?
APP: So much of the artist's identity has to do with finding a sense of place, whether geographical or communal. When did you find your artistic space?
KB: The semi-brief version was I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just knew I liked to make things, whether music or drawing. I had an office job that I landed with my Photoshop skills, was recording music and driving a van.
With my free time, I started painting for fun on my own. Painting one thing after another in a new free way. Just fooling around, and over 7-8 years I just painted and painted and painted as a hobby at home.
Then, I got laid off from my office job. My wife said I should show people my paintings and do something with it… I did that, and also started tinkering around with putting art out in public with a street art component. Which is where I came up with the term “Street Folk Art.” I would paint on boarded up windows on abandoned houses, because it wouldn’t hurt the house… it grew and grew, the more people that saw my work on the street led to people buying paintings. I got asked to do bigger and bigger projects and talks. It’s strange and amazing that I’m still going. I feel lucky to be able to do this.
