we profile yet another Vancouver artist with ties to Dave Kinsey's BLK/MRKT. Age? Location? Music you're hyped on right now?
28. Vancouver BC, Canada. I'm hyped on alot of stuff right now. Destroyers Rubies is rocking my i-tunes lately. The newest Daedelus album is very good. I like alot of experimental producers. Stuff like Thavius Beck and Sixtoo. I just got this album by Fourtet and Steve Reid that i've been rocking out to. I do like my Rap music as well, but i could talk about Rap forever so let's just move on...

What is that last name Tour anyway? Very unique.
Tour's a bit English and little Irish and French with some German tucked in there too. Plus i like ending with the R when I'm hitting up tags in the community.

What's the deal with so many talented people coming from BC Canada? Does it have anything to do with the bars closing as early as they do... or a deep longing and drive to be here in the good ol' USA?
I've been in BC so long the early last call seems normal to me. I think as a Canadian drinker we start earlier in the day than our American brothers so were wiped out by 1am. One thing that's got me itching to move to the US is that beer is so readily available everywhere you go, every corner store has so many options of imported 40's and so many different kinds of Mexican beer at all hours of the day and night- that's real freedom.

How did you get picked up by Kinsey and his gallery Blk/Mrkt? It seems that show helped get your career moving pretty well. Did you show much before then?
Blk/Mrkt saw my stuff by chance really, My friend Sandro Grison who does Color Magazine up here in Vancouver and i were working on some snowboard graphics together with my paintings on them and he's got this massive e-mail list that he's put together over the years and Blk/Mrkt was on it so they contacted us when they saw the Boards. I was mostly showing in group shows across Canada that friends would ask me to be part of before Dave and Jana offered me my first solo show with them and i kind of tripped out because I've never been someone to really send out stuff to Galleries and ram my work down peoples throats, which you kind of have to do if you want to do this for a living. So i lucked out because their the raddest folks and really took a chance on me when we first met. I have a second solo there coming up in March 2007.

Are you able to make a living from your work? If not, how are you staying feed, clothed, and sheltered?
I've had a million wack day jobs to keep my art afloat but 2005 was my first real year of doing this full time and now people want to commission stuff from me which is pretty cool. I do okay selling stuff at shows here and there but it's really just a leap of faith, a website, a Visa for the shipping, my bro's that can front me a beer or two and staying out of shoe stores.

What's the process for creating one your works?
My full on paintings always start as a tight drawing first done in ballpoint, for some reason i always draw with ballpoint pens..? once I'm happy with that i transfer it on to a box i build almost always out of wood. Then i lay down the paint really loosely using all kinds of paints and inks and "spray bombs" and make this big mess that eventually gets tighter, then i drop the outline which is a direct copy from the first drawing i made. But really i just love to draw for myself using whatevers around.

What did you think of SF when you came through for a visit? Do anything memorable?
SF is one of the best towns I've ever been to and other than the weather i like it WAY more than LA. There was lots of sick art shows happening all over the week i was there- Kiki Smith at The Moma was incredible since i wasn't familiar with her work before that and it blew my mind. I checked out the huge install Chris Duncan did at Yerba Buena which was very nice to see finished because when i met Chris in Vancouver he was really excited to start working on that and it turned out so good. Dave Choe's show was the first night i got there and met up with Matt Irving and Ert and eventually met you but it was pretty sloshville by then, I liked that Bar we went to it was slimy.

If I came to Vancouver for a visit, what would you take me to do?
Okay, first off we'd have to luck out on weather so make sure you come mid-summer, then we'd hook you up with a bike and cruise East side to West side and definitely hit one of our many beaches with beers and crews and BBQ's- i check out your blogs so i know you know how we roll... I'm personally more up for the house party than the Club but it's on you since your visiting. Just watch out for those Vancougars...

Who are some artists that you admire there in Vancouver?
There are alot of talented folks up here and alot who are off the radar. Fontski is one of my favourites check him out at worthlessart.com My homies Fighting actually just moved to Toronto but they still show us love check out shedoesntloveyouanymore.com to find out what's really happening though check out happyaccidents.ca that's the Vancouver blog spot and general canuck invasion news site.

Daily routine?
Wake around 9am, coffee it up at Napoli on Commercial Drive- best steamed milk/Coffee to go even though they just raised there prices again. Home. E-mail. Work on whatever's on the go. Eat, sandwiches are favourite. Work.6pm Girl gets home. Wrestle. Dinner. Work/Reflect. Bike ride. Internet/hang out.1am Crash. This all changes if i have a deadline. Weekends are usually a write off as well. It's not a bad life.

Best place traveled?
2004/2005 - Costa Rica/Nicaragua. 1 month. So amazing, i miss it.

Ever been conned?
Not really. Been ripped off buying weed.

Last time lost?
I'm pretty bad with directions i get lost all the time.

What are you trying to capture when making a new work? How often are you fully satisfied with your finished works?
Satisfaction for me with my art is very short lived, i tend to want to move on to the next piece in the middle of the one I'm working on. Only on a few occasions have i really loved a piece and even hung it on my own wall for very long. My art is very much about the Portrait and my subjects tend to be cold but with a unique individuality and strength. I just want to start making twice as much stuff as i make now.

Describe your working environment- place, time of day, beverage, music, everything. When does it feel best?
I'm looking for a new studio space now actually as i've been trapped in my little house for the past year and a half working in my kitchen, making a huge mess that has me wondering if i'll get my damage deposit back when i leave. It's pretty cramped and in my perfect world my studio would be far far away from any computers, which can eat up your day if you let them. I'm a day time worker, my brain doesnt function as well as it should late at night and i find myself doing my best work with coffee in hand in the morning and afternoon when i can be alone.

Smoke? Drink? Preferable mode of transportation?
I smoke when i drink and drink preferably frosty cold beers- been drinking lots of Moosehead lately- you guys got those? My BMX is the way i roll, in the slow lane jumping curbs.

Whatcha' got coming down the line?
Alot of commissions and personal work the world won't see for a bit. A bunch of group shows. I'm having home-made Lasagna tonight though.

I love when people give shout outs. Give a few.
Shouts to my Art Family- BeerBenchGospel, Color Magazine crew, LFTM Collective, BLK/MRKT, Tra Selhtrow for hosting me in Seattle last weekend and all the Vancouver lurkers. Thanks to the Fecal too.

For more on Ben, check his site: thetourshow.com {moscomment}