| By :
Martin Hofschroer
Banksy has granted a rare interview in which he reveals his rise from teenage graffitist to one of the world's most famous artists. The guerrilla-style artist told the Sun newspaper that he began creating graffiti art as teenage member of the DryBreadZ Crew in his native Bristol in an attempt to make an impact and get noticed by the local trendy art scene. Banksy said that fellow Bristolian, 3D from music group Massive Attack inspired him to start painting graffiti in the classic New York style of big letters and characters. "There was always a lot of graffiti in my home town growing up, urmm, I think 3D from Massive Attack had brought it back with him off tour in America and he'd been painting all over the city," he told the Sun. The elusive artist admitted that he had to ditch the American style of graffiti painting because the technique took too long and left him vulnerable to arrest from the police for vandalism and defacing public property. Banksy hit the big time when he moved to London and started to paint satirical stencil drawings featuring striking and humorous images, which were occasionally combined with anti-establishment slogans. London was abuzz with new sightings of the Britstolian's controversial graffiti art on a regular basis which was no longer confined to the walls of the capital city as Banksy aimed to expand his repertoire. "I didn't see why you'd settle for just walls. So I started vandalising statues and that led to vandalising parks. It just kept going really," he told the Sun. The graffitist started to exhibit his work in America and Britain which lead to Banksy prints and originals becoming increasingly popular with celebrities and art enthusiasts. Pop star Christina Aguilera bought an original of Queen Victoria as a lesbian and two Banksy prints for £25,000, while Hollywood heavyweight Brad Pitt is reported to have purchased a piece via a phone bid at a London auction. Banksy claims that his celebrity status is both a blessing and a curse as he still feels nostalgic about his previous lifestyle as an underground graffitist despite being one of Britain's most bankable artists. "It's great, I guess, when your paintings are hanging up in a museum. But I can't help feeling it was a bit easier when all I had to compete against was a dustbin down an alley rather than, you know, a Gainsborough or something," he told the newspaper. An Oxford Street HMV store has recently been sprayed with two original Banksy works.
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