NeonGlyphClothing

Nearly 4 years ago I got my own place for the first time. I was sitting alone on the floor of the newly rented house, gazing at a beautiful laser-cut wooden panel that was framed into an interior window. The cuts provided openings into the entry room, sort of like the window panel inside a church confessional. Mystified by the infinite nature and geometry of the design, I silently gazed upon it completely devoid of any thoughts.

All of a sudden the idea struck me like lightning and I was consumed by the desire to hang a shirt on it and spray paint through it on the other side. I couldn't control the urge. I had to do it. I knew if I did I would be in trouble with my landlords and I'd end up having to pay who knows how much to replace it or compensate for it. I thought about it for about 2 seconds, and the next thing I knew I was rattling a can of fluorescent orange spray paint and spraying away. Infused with adrenaline and excitement, my hands were gently shaking. I pulled the shirt down from the other side and I was so excited to see the negative of the pattern permanently painted in neon color on one of my shirts. This was the start of it all. My old roommate and close friend Talia Sandoval was always making shirts this way off the balcony using stencils that she cut herself by hand. I thought they were cool but couldn't see myself wearing one. That must be what hit me when I was gazing at the panel. My brain connected the two and I knew I could take it in a different direction that was more suitable to me.

The shirt was cool, but you could tell it was amateur. When I find myself passionate about something, I never settle for anything but the best. Accepting the future consequences of my property damage, I popped out the panel (which was now my stencil), took it outside and set up a work table. I went to the store and bought all the bright colors I could afford plus 1 blue, 2 blacks and a respirator. I went back home and starting painting on every shirt I had, each one looking better than the one before it. I was possessed.

I found myself looking at everything I saw differently. "Can I spray paint over that?" I'd ask myself. I would wake up at the crack of dawn every Saturday for a month and hit up every garage sale in town just looking for things I could spray paint through to make a cool design. I began learning how to layer designs over each other.

My designs quickly evolved and so did my outlook on life. I was seeing the world through eyes inspired by color and light. I was feeling the love of the universe. People I didn't know would stop me and tell me how cool my shirt was and ask where I got it. I loved it. I was always making shirts, for myself or my friends, giving them away. I was never quite satisfied with any design for more than a day.

Soon I began to develop my own designs and patterns. I would spray my existing stencils on a poster board, take it inside and draw on it with markers to tweak it and make it different, however I imagined it might look better. I'd cut out the new design using an X-acto knife and then I'd have my own handmade stencil. I'd continue to evolve them by spraying them on a new poster board each time and evolving them further. Sometimes I'd start from scratch and make something completely unique and run it through the process. It was turning into a true art, these were my own designs now, not just random items from garage sales. They evolved so far that they looked not at all like the starting point. I never actually knew where I was going with it consciously, but subconsciously my hand was controlling itself. I felt like I was witnessing my designs come to life rather than making them myself. I've never been more excited. It was like tracing lines that weren't actually there, I just imagined streaks of imaginary light over the poster board and followed them around with my marker. I didn't have to brainstorm to think of ideas for my designs...I just sat down with a marker in my hand and let instinct take over.

My designs have refined alongside my own character. They very accurately reflect where I am in my life. When I first started they were messy, loud, over the top and out of control, I was 21 then and just blossoming into my young adulthood. Now coming up on 25 they are refined, focused, balanced and well layered. But they have always been bright, happy, and full of life. :)

- Donald Lockwood
Neon Glyph Clothing