I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Steve Cross for a very long time, and in that time I’ve always found him to be a remarkably affable, courteous and downright talented and passionate man.

Having seen his work on walls, in group shows, as tattoos on friends and sketches posted up on social media, I have had more than a familiarity with his work – yet its only really now (even given his incredible body of work so far), when Ive seen a catalogue of his upcoming show, The Black Ocean, that I realise I’ve caught a fleeting glimpse at the full scope of his talents. Across mediums, instruments, tools and creative outlets, his work is at once arresting and evocative in its intentions.

Moving into working with oil paint, Steve Cross is opening up another part of his work to a wider audience. Created in solitary, quieter moments whenever he can grab them, the works in The Black Ocean are hauntingly beautiful. With shifts of colour splayed across fragments of deeper purpose, the works really showcase his talent for portraiture. With charismatic and yet a strangely ethereal notions within each of the images Steve plays with classical elements skewed between modern aesthetics – after all, theres aerosol, his first love, in there amongst it as well.

For a guy who has spent decades honing his craft, from 80s graffiti on the walls of Perth, to his work as a tattoo artist, to his continued passion for painting walls across the City of Melbourne, Steve Cross is one of those people in our midst who has quietly achieved respect and appreciation without any compromise of his own personal artistic ideals.

The Black Ocean marks a new phase in Steve Cross’s artistic journey – and not only a new phase, but a new level of representation of his creativity through a differing medium as an exploratory questioning of his self as it relates to his work. We had a change to throw a few questions to Steve on the eve of his very first solo show, and it was certainly more than worth the read … check it all out below!

Tell us about your early years and how you first started out in art? What made you pick up a pen and paper in the first instance – was it something you were always interested in even back as a kid?

I’ve been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember, really. I just thought it was totally normal to spend every waking hour doing drawings and scribbling on things. My family were all pretty creative, and my Mum always encouraged us. Me and my brother used to spend hours drawing pictures. I’m two years younger than him, and I think I got competitive with myself, trying to be as good as he was, so that’s how it all started.

As for history and all … I know you also had a start in the early Perth graff scene! What was Perth like in terms of graffiti in the early 90s? 

As soon I started seeing tags on the train line, around the mid-80s, I was obsessed with it. I’d look out for it on the streets, and I started doing it with friends around 1986. Perth was a pretty conservative place back then, and we had to make our own fun.

There was no Internet, so we learnt what to do by watching films, and reading magazines about skating. We’d head into the city and get up to mischief…

You actually recently did some painting at Meeting of Styles Melbourne, a reunion of sorts with your crew TFC – how did it go? 

It was great to see everyone again. We’ve all been friends since the 1980s, back in Perth, but now everyone lives all over the place, so it’s getting harder to find the time to paint together. Most of us have got kids too, so it can often be tricky. Catching up with everyone from TFC is like picking up a conversation where we left off.

The crew consists of me, Shime, Dash, Poise, Pore, Chez, Mistery, Darco, Cab101, Kid Zoom and Kane. Only some of us could make it to Meeting of Styles, and it was awesome to paint such a big wall with everyone.

As your “day job” you are also a very well known as an extremely talented tattooist, can you tell us about your progression into becoming a tattoo artist, the story behind your shop, Korpus, and how tattooing itself forms an integral part of your artistic output?

I’ve been tattooing since the mid 90s, when I did my apprenticeship in Perth. I always felt like I wanted to see if I had what it took to make it in the Eastern States, so in 1999 I moved to Melbourne, selling my flash, and trying to get a gig working in one of the shops over there. I ended up at Tattoo Connection, and worked there for eight years, before setting up Korpus with Brian Graydon in 2007. Even in the eight years we’ve been operating, there’s been a huge shift in tattoo culture in Australia.

It’s all pretty different to when I first packed my backpack full of designs and headed East. But it’s great. We’ve got a fantastic bunch of artists working with us now, including Alvaro Flores, Taniele Sadd, Benny Bones, Andrea Daniels, Sam Sirianni and Caleb (MAYO), who I’ve known through the street art/graffiti scene for many years too. The studio’s grown heaps over the years, and it’s just a great creative place to hang out and be inspired – even when I’m not tattooing.

Living, working and creating in Melbourne – how has the city itself influenced the way you create art since you moved here in ’99? What kind of creative energy does the city you live in affect your work, and what kind of motivations does it provide?

I have Melbourne running through my blood. I just love this city – always have. It’s such a great place to paint – the walls are so accessible, and there are so many amazing artists living and working here.

I’ve painted in a lot of cities round the world, but Melbourne always inspires me the most. Everywhere you look there’s amazing art being produced, and painted on walls. I love to travel, but Melbourne will always call me back.

Tell us a bit about your techniques – there is obviously a fair bit of illustrative work and tattooing, but what are your other favorite mediums, and what does each one bring to you in terms of satisfaction and variation?

I love painting across all sorts of mediums – but at the moment oils are where my passion lies. I started teaching myself to work with them about five years ago, and it’s become a bit of an obsession since then.

Obviously, I’ll always love aerosol as well, and in some ways, that was my first love, so I keep coming back to it. At the moment I’m experimenting with both those mediums for my exhibition.

You have a show coming up real soon, The Black Ocean. This is the first solo show I’ve seen from you in … well, damn, I don’t even know if you’ve had a solo show before? After so many years creating such mad artwork, what took you so long? :D

Ha! Yeah, I’ve taken my time in going solo, even though I’ve been a part of group shows since 1988, when I did my first. I guess I’d always been a bit hesitant about putting myself out there – even though a lot of my art is pretty public, with my tattoos and street art. I think I’m at a place in my life, and my career, where I’m ready to start sharing some of the stuff I do at my studio, which is pretty different.

Most of it’s done late at night, and I’ve not really shown a lot of it to anyone – even friends and family. But here goes…

What is it about the show that you wanted to delve into the most, from what we’ve read it seems a deeply personal exploration of expression rendered in oil paints … but the images we’ve seen so far hold hints of void and solitude. What were some of the things in your mind over the months of painting, and what do you hope to portray with this show?

I guess my professional life involves a lot of interpersonal connection – tattooing is a very collaborative process, and you’re constantly talking to clients about what they want, and engaging in the creative process with them. But the stuff I do in my studio is very solitary. It’s pretty good to have that space to be silent, and introspective, but it’s pretty isolating sometimes.

I guess this exhibition is about me trying to find that balance between being a tattooist, a partner, a dad, and being present – and being an artist, which can often be a pretty selfish, inward-looking thing.

What have been some of the more interesting projects that you have worked on in the past, both commercial and personal? Tell us a bit about some of the cool shit you’ve accomplished!

Ha! Well, I guess I have done some cool shit over the years. I couldn’t tell you any one project that I’ve enjoyed the most. All of them have been so different. I’ve designed wine labels (for our friends’ vineyard, Lost Lake), and beer labels (for Cavalier beer), I’ve also done three albums for Aussie hip-hop group Bliss n Eso. That was particularly fun, as I loved collaborating with those guys (they were always really enthusiastic about my art).

In 2014, around the time my son was born, I also designed a series of artwork for Connoisseur Ice-cream. That was pretty awesome – they did a pop up gallery of my stuff as part of the launch in Sydney. And we got free ice-cream – my partner was pretty stoked with that one.

Whats next for Steve Cross? What projects lie unrealised, and where would you like to take your work to next? 

I really couldn’t tell you! Cause I honestly don’t know. Watch this space.

Check out Steve Cross at his website, as well as all the details for his show, The Black Ocean, at Juddy Roller Friday 15th April 2016!