Please introduce yourself, where are you based and what do you do?

I'm Liam Seear-Budd, I also go by the name of Salad. I was born in New Zealand, and I am based in Melbourne. I work as an artist, I do a few things but I specialise in painting on glass.

You're a very talented multidisciplinary artist, what medium do you enjoy the most?

Chee bo! I mostly paint on glass, but after doing about 100 of them I can’t really say that’s my favourite... but it’s a journey I’m still on. I try to experiment with as many different mediums as I can. Like a literal salad, there’s all sorts of good stuff mixed in one bowl. Over the years I’ve channeled my artistic abilities into music, clothes, album covers, murals, photography blah blah blah... My favourite is visual art, but music has the biggest roll to play in this game of creativity.

What have you been working on lately?

Over the last couple of months I’ve been at home in my studio working on various things. I’ve been doing large scale ink drawings based on old fairy tales, such as The Three Little Pigs. Going back to paper has been very rewarding yet, time consuming. But fuck, there has been a lot of time to burn. As well as the ink drawings, I’ve been working on a few glass works that have already found new homes. I’ve been experimenting with new music, as well as giving things like video editing a crack. 

Can you share a little bit of your creative process with us?. For example how do you conceptualize and then execute your artworks?

My creative process normally begins with an experience, or a specific feeling which is present in that time. I pretty much always use art to get things of my chest, and to explore my own feelings. Once I have direction, I’ll surf the web for reference images or go through old cartoon books to gain inspiration. I usually use my iPad to draw and compose images. It’s great for fixing mistakes, and for layering drawings. Once that part of the process is done I’ll usually start fixing up a recycled frame from an op shop. I glue the glass into the frame with silicon sealer and begin to sketch my artwork with a whiteboard marker on the front of the glass. Once I’m happy with my sketch, I’ll begin to paint the image backwards on the glass. The outline comes first; I use acrylic paint through a sauce bottle. The drying process for each step takes about a day or so. While I wait, I'll plan more pieces, or work on other incomplete projects. It’s good to work on multiple things at once. Once the outline has dried, I tape up sections and use aerosol paint to colour each block. Then repeat, repeat, repeat. :)

We commissioned a tee graphic from you recently titled

How has graffiti and lettering helped you develop your style?

Graffiti and lettering have always been an interest of mine. When I was a kid I told myself I shouldn’t do it, because I wanted to be all grown up; a graphic designer. Toward the end of high school was the time I really got into it. I made friends with a couple of people who, in my eyes, were extraordinary at graff. They were lovely enough to teach me all about it. Once I moved to Melbourne, I had figured out enough to try it over here. I was lucky enough to fall into a friend group of talented writers. I’ve always been more about daytime pieces. Toy, I know. However, I’m more interested in being able create a piece calmly, it allows me to learn from the process. My understanding of letters and lettering has flourished from learning graffiti. Graffiti writers are the best designers.

Who are some of your influences / where do you draw your inspirations from? 

For the majority, my work is influenced by nostalgia, personal experiences or situations, and the people around me. I spend a long time researching old shows, movies, and books. I’ll often ask my housemates about characters they used to love as kids and assess my own feelings and thoughts to develop images in response to that. Again, music has a big roll to play also. Lyrics can inspire a scene, sounds can inspire a mood or a colour. Shit’s buzzy.