First thing I noticed were his shoes, this man has some serious style. His pair of boots have been worn, trashed for over 50 years.
 
Don't let that fool you though, I know, I was thinking the exact same thing, this dude is over 50 years old?! Nah, vintage store boots man. 
 
Kubota's 36 and he's working on his first degree in Visual Arts, and undergoing an art evolution, redefining and refining his style. You've probably seen his black and white pen work around, and you've probably think you've seen it all, but this japanese man is moving up a notch and working on something on the next level.
 
 http://www.kubotafumikazu.com/  

Situated in Collingwood, this gentleman's house was a real deceiver. It looked like an old paint shop from the outside but inside, you find a real raw yet charming artist house. 

At 18, he left Yokohama for Melbourne, and trail blazed the growing street art scene, working and collaborating with many artists locally and internationally.

Exploring the animalistic nature in us humans, in his new work, he pushes boundaries, experiments and evolves, working with new mediums.

 Be sure to check out his upcoming show at Backwoods Gallery, opening on the 16th July. 

 Hiroyasu Tsuri, TWOONE

You may have seen this man and his work at his recent show "Oh Dear" featuring blue portraits of friends and their socially awkward encounters. 

Stevie D

Hello.

It's recently come to my realization that my last post was a little over 6 months ago, and that fact alone has ruined my consistency in these portraits, and I have some explaining to do. 

At the end of last year, I started to be dissatisfied with what I was doing. Not because I don't get satisfaction from meeting and photographing artists, but merely the work I was producing had to be stepped up to the next level. 

For the past 6 months, I've been in the talks of collaborations, research, tests, experiments, ups and downs. And now I'm ready. Ready to meet and learn with these artists again, ready to make great work. 

Two things that I'd like you to know from this post on. Things are different now, I used to be blinded by quantity over quality, I took on any and every artist in my way, but now I will be selective on who I document. With the compensation of quantity, I will in return give you quality. Spaces will be continued to be documented, artists will be continued to be stripped down and revealed, but this time it'll be better.

In this one year that I've been working on Walking with Giants, I've been focusing a lot on western art, and I thought it'd be great to go back to my roots and explore and discover some Asian creatives. I'm starting off in Singapore, where I was born and raised. 

To be honest, I wasn't expecting to find any artists, let alone photograph them, Singapore's one country where art is almost non-existent. 

But you know, with google, almost anything's possible.

I spent my morning chatting with Yeo Siak Goon, at 14, he knew he couldn't do anything but art. So he dropped it all and gave all his energy to art. From photography to publishing and now a full-time painter, he's worked hard all his life, to learn and to create, and even now he's still hungry for more. 

This is Dane Lovett.

Dane does really amazing paintings (as you can see), and he is one lucky young man to be such a beautiful studio.
He shares it with a bunch of wood workers and a florist. The wood guys made their warehouse into a glorious wood haven, and the florist seals the deal with her gorgeous plants all around.

I know, a photo of the studio would have been great, I was just a little too in awe.

http://www.danelovett.com/

The first time I saw Jonas, I thought to myself, did this man came out from a time machine? He looks like a 60s man. Then, I found out he did sculpting. Mega plus for me.

He's definitely not one to be taken too seriously. His style and his work speaks for itself. 
Very inspiring man, top 5 favorite studio visits for sure.

http://jonasropponen.wordpress.com/

This is Emma Stuart.

She is a children's book illustrator, she's a fine art painter, she's a traveller, she's a cool cat.

When discussing this series of artists with her and about the importance of staying true to one's art, she said "When one looks back at their lifetime of work, you have to see an evolution (in style, in aesthetic, in quality)"

Need a nude? Get Catherine Abel to do it.

Jewels Stevens, wild and carefree.

When I arrived at his studio/armoury, there was really intense mediaeval movie soundtracks playing behind the door (which was the kind of big, wooden door, enforced with heavy metal, that required a few men and a wooden log to break down). He walked me into this magical fortress of his, that immediately took me back to Middle Ages. He forsakes simplicity and convenience, and embraces style and EVILLLLL, room filled with amazing tools and  instruments. 

By now, I'm sure you've already figured out what this kid does.
This is Lord Sam Read Bloomfield (his title Lord is for real*)

*So basically Sam bought a piece of land in a part of Scotland, just big enough for him to build a stronghold (Tent). And because he owns this mighty territory (10x10 ft), he is officially deemed a Lord. That entitles him to have "Lord" in his credit cards and other important documents. 

This is Claire Taylor.

This place you're looking at is her store and workshop AND her home as well (upstairs).
Perfect.

Visit her on Smith street in Fitzroy if you're around the corner.
http://www.clairetaylor.com.au/

The walkway of the artist studio Emily's housed in was covered with silver foil like material and I immediately thought of Warhol's famous Silver Factory. It was unbelievable.  

Emily's currently working on a large scale painting, that she's spent months and months getting it perfected. She makes me want to be a full-time painter, it's such a free-spirited lifestyle.  (plus full-time artists never seem to really age)

http://emily-ferretti.blogspot.com.au/ 

Whimsical would be the perfect word to describe her work. Her extensive use of colours blinded me when I took my first step into the studio. Colours, colours everywhere. I love how she also doesn't just stick to one theme or idea. In her studio you see work revolving around nature, then on the other corner of the room are some slightly darker, obscure collection of past work. 

Genevieve McLean

Check out the series Woodland and Harbinger.

Everybody, this is Anna Varendorff. (That is one sweet last name, I forgot to ask what her descend was, Anna, if you're reading this, let me know)

Anna was the sunshine to a pretty dreadful week, it was such a pleasure hanging out with her.
She's an absolute hard-worker I'm telling you, and funny, and smart, and talented. 
She also had really really beautiful chelsea boots, she even brought me to the store to check out the other shoes they had. (Sole Devotion on Little Collins st guys)

http://annavarendorff.com/

This is Vikki and she makes really cool jewelry. Check her stuff out here.

Clare Whitney
Part-time artist, full-time mom

Clare was an absolute pleasure to meet, she was very welcoming and gave me some wonderful insight on printmaking and art.

I must admit that I am crazy envious of Peter's space. He first showed me his studio which is the "basement" of his warehouse. (It's really just the first level of the house but you have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to his real house) His studio is filled with his massive collection of old publications, records, pottery and if I continue naming the stuff he has, I'll probably lose your attention. 

He then took me upstairs to the real deal which I kinda half expected it to be like any other home. But no. His warehouse is a dream home to every aspiring artist, classy, suave but you still get a sense of rawness on the walls and furniture. He spent a good 45 minutes showing me around his home and sharing amazing stories behind his (some really rare) art pieces. 

We then started shooting and I must say that I've never been challenged by any artist more than he has. After my usual routine, I told him I was done and happy with the photos, but this is where he came in, he checked out the photos and basically told me it wasn't good enough. (which Peter, if you're reading this, no one has ever said to me, so thank you for your honesty) 

We reshot....twice.

Check out Peter Atkins' work here

Abby Seymour

Tegan and Lara of Ink & Spindle