The only way I know that the illustrator, designer and street artist Toofly’s real name is Maria Castillo is because that’s the name displayed with her e-mail address. I suppose I should be more cautious and say that I assume that it’s her real name. Frankly, I didn’t think it was important enough to ask her about.
The lady is getting a lot of ink these days. Maybe we need a new term for that; let’s say she’s propagating billions of editorial pixels. That would be in addition to the untold gazillions of pixels that her art generates on computer screens around the world, those well-lit but low-resolution 2D images that, try as they might, just can’t quite do justice to the lady’s work as seen in Real Life.
Let’s back up a bit as long as we’re talking Real Life, and hip you to Toofly growing up in Corona, Queens (New York) “around some Italians and a lot of South American and Dominican families, in a small little one-family house” with her grandparents, mom, uncle, aunts and younger cousin. Toofly liked drawing as far back as she could remember, and confesses that she would “sneak into my uncle’s room and grab his X-Men comics and try to draw some of the female characters, especially Jean Grey.”
Those were the early days, the artist recalls, of “discovering what a strong female looked like.” Soon enough, when Toofly started at New York’s High School of Fashion Industries in 1991, she would discover what a strong female acted like, too. “I was taking fashion design classes but realized that I would much rather draw and paint than sew clothes. When I walked into a classroom with walls full of graffiti tags and character illustrations, that did it for me. I had discovered what I was meant to do.”
Toofly has since taken her street-wall sensibility into areas that Wall Street can relate to, like commerce. “I do a lot of everything these days,” she says, “and there’s always something new I’m doing. My freelance pretty much supports me, and everything else is extra fun stuff.” Even with her illustrations licensed for all manner of t-shirts, bags, totes and prints, she doesn’t claim to have “made it big,” and admits, “I just recently arrived to the gallery scene, and little by little I’m starting to send my press kit and proposals around to various corporations for those big commission deals. It’s got to be right though,” Toofly asserts, “because I’m not just going to do anything for money.”
Toofly has plenty of tools—spray cans, brushes, pens, crayons, chalk, mop heads, whatever works—and plenty of influences too, “from all over the place,” she says, “like fashion photography, graphic design and various contemporary and historic artists.” Comic (excuse me, graphic novel) illustrators like Jim Lee and Scott Campbell are faves, as she “grew up drawing their female characters.” Boris Vallejo’s fantasy painting was a strong influence, but perhaps the greatest influence was graffiti writer Sabe—“because,” Toofly admits, “if it weren’t for his drawings and tags in those classrooms I may have ended up somewhere else.”
The Muses knock on a lot of doors at Toofly’s house. “I’m moved by emotional music,” Toofly says, “whether it’s Led Zeppelin, Muse or Mary J. Blige love songs. I also listen to freestyle and 90s hip-hop classics to get me back to my roots.” The lady is a virtual melting pot herself, and the rhythms of her life and times are easily discerned in the characters she draws, taut as coiled springs, energy ready to blow up into something new and unexpected.
Besides all her work that people can find on the web (just the term “artist Toofly” will get you about a thousand hits), she has some group gallery shows coming up, graffiti productions throughout New York’s five boroughs, and various events where the artist will paint live or speak. Toofly is also starting to sell her line of products and art prints on her own site as well as different boutiques and lifestyle shops in the U.S., Europe and, soon, Japan.
Toofly has her priorities in order. She is involved in organizing and promoting youth workshops of various kinds, trying to give back to the community that nurtured her. “I was given a chance to experience life, good and bad, to learn and have fun in it,” she reflects. “You have to accept that things do not last forever, so try to enjoy every good moment you can create. It helps to know that at the end of the day, I can fall and get up again, and if it’s not meant for me anymore, then that’s okay too. I have a purpose, and the freedom to dream up my own reality, and no one can take that away from me.”
Toofly’s art, her vision, is uniquely hers, and doesn’t ask to be compared or contrasted, just accepted for what it is—which is all she asks for herself, as well. “All of this and the freedom to do art unapologetically?” she muses. “It’s very inspiring.”
(Current Standing ~ 4 out of 5)
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November 2nd, 2006 at 2:17 am
Nice to see ladies representin in Hip Hop and art! Her work is amazing…thanks for writing the piece - PEACE!
November 2nd, 2006 at 11:50 am
Toofly is ridiculous…been puttin it down for a minute too. Thanks for covering such an important female artist holdin it down strong.
November 2nd, 2006 at 11:53 am
She did a burner at B-Boy BBQ in Philly this summer right? Can anyone confirm that? She gotta crazy ill handstyle!
November 2nd, 2006 at 10:22 pm
These responses are the reason I continue to write for FreshoutMedia, even as I get busier and busier with regular monthly columns (two national mags now), writing and recording the music, being managing editor of one weekly paper and one bimonthly startup mag in Beverly Hills, working with New Line Cinema, and so on. But no matter what I do, I still get as much satisfaction from my Freshout gigs as any other writing I do — and it’s because the readers are with it, they’re part of the art world too, they’re musicians and poets and artists themselves. And what could be better than having a dialogue with your true family, your creative brothers and sisters? Well, I’m old enough to be … an uncle (!) … but the answer remains the same: there is nothing better than this kind of family. At least there’s one place in my life where I don’t have to keep trying (and failing) to explain what it’s like to be an artist, to live with that bottomless hole that cries out for filling and never gets filled. You all know about that, because you’re my family — which makes this home, see? Thanks to all who make it a warm and welcoming one. — Erik J.
November 2nd, 2006 at 11:40 pm
erik jay is the man
November 5th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Miss Toofly is most definately and inspiration to us ladies who are pursuing our own creative endevours within Fashion, Art, Graffiti, Music etc.
November 6th, 2006 at 10:42 am
I’m so proud of her, she’s my angel ..love..mom.
November 6th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
[…] Toofly is one of my favorite artists and she just let me know she was interviewed for FreshOut Media. It’s a good read and it’s always interesting to hear how people got their start. Check out the Toofly interview on FreshOut Media! […]