Roy Schreuder – Going Places

Roy Schreuder – Going Places

By Arden de Raaij

Not so long ago my friend Ivesone told me to keep an eye out for the young and talented Roy Schreuder. Roy is from the northern part of Holland, where they basically speak another language, rock wooden shoes and don’t know what a Tram is (okay not totally true, but I’m trying to paint a picture here). There’s a sick graff scene out there , but a non-existent street art scene except for Roy. Even though he’s quite alone in his practice of street art up north he does well, really well! Actually, since I’ve been following his work I dare to say that you too should be keeping track of this guy because he has the talent and ambition to rise up from the overwhelming sea of street artists out there.

Stencil art by Roy Schreuder
Stencil art by Roy Schreuder

Let us start at the beginning, have you always been a creative kid?
As a child I was always drawing at school and at home. My drawings were really negative back then, a few weeks ago I found some old drawings and they where all about people breaking legs, getting killed by aliens, car accidents and animals slaughtering each other. Until four years ago it wasn’t much more than doodles, then I started making more detailed drawings and canvasses.

Stencil art by Roy Schreuder
Stencil art by Roy Schreuder

What made you start out in the world of street art?
Hmm, there wasn’t really a certain moment or thing that made me start doing street art. I was always interested in graffiti but I didn’t do much more than tags. After a while I got bored (and busted) with only tags and I started making stencils. From that moment I’ve made more and more stencils and my stencils got more detailed and layered. I also started experimenting with other forms of street art like stickers, posters and collage’s.

Street art Mural by Roy Schreuder
Street art Mural by Roy Schreuder
Stencil art by Roy Schreuder
Stencil art by Roy Schreuder

I know there is a vibrant graff scene in the north of the Netherlands, but the street art scene is pretty much nonexistent (hope I’m not stepping on toes with this one ;)), how does this influence you?
Haha it’s true, the graffiti scene is pretty cool and the quality is quite high. But like you say the street art scene is dead. In my hometown I’m pretty much the only one doing posters and stencils. The graffheads are quite supportive and most of then are open minded towards street-art but I think it would be more motivating for me if there where a few more stencil artists though. So, yes, I think it does influence me.

Do you ever think of moving to a place where the scene is a bit morwe alive in a later stadium?
Who knows, I’m often in Amsterdam lately and I really like the active scene over there. It’s nice to see graffiti and street art everywhere you look. But for now I’m fine here, I want to finish my school first and then I’ll see what happens.

Street art Mural by Roy Schreuder
Street art Mural by Roy Schreuder

We see quite a few iconic works in your portfolio like Frankenstein, Captain America and the Mona Lisa, any particular reasons for this?
Well I really like comics so that is one of the reasons why I use these characters. Also I noticed that if people recognize something, it has more impact on them and it’s easier for them to remember a certain artwork.

Do the people around you support you in your work?
Yes they do, my family, girlfriend and friends really support me in what I’m doing. They try to help me if they can. Since I don’t have my drivers license yet, it’s pretty much like: ”Hey dad, CFYE has a show in Amsterdam next week and I can show some work over there.” The next day we’re on our way to get my paintings there. Also my friends are really supportive and interested. Sometimes they use my stencils to make a canvas or they help me with the shitloads of work involved in the Frankenstein pieces.

Street art Mural by Roy Schreuder
Street art Mural by Roy Schreuder

Who/what are your inspirations?
Maybe a bit cliché but everything around me can inspire me. But most of the times it’s music that brings me to new ideas. Or everyday objects like bottle caps that bring me to a new concept.

Are there any artists you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
Over the last few months I met a lot of interesting artists from the Netherlands, UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Italy, US, Belgium, etc. during events, jams and shows. I only did collaboration walls so far, but I would like to do some collab canvasses as well.

Stencil art by Roy Schreuder
Stencil art by Roy Schreuder

Is there any particular goal you want to reach with street art, do you have aspirations to be a full time artist?
Of course it would be great if I could make my money with my art. I’ll see how it goes, I’m still young so I have plenty of time to develop myself as an artist. First I want to develop more of an own style and bring more meaning to my work.

Do you have anything interesting coming up you can tell us about?
I really enjoyed making the Frankenstein pieces and halftone stencils and I think they turned out pretty cool, so I’m planning on doing more of these pieces and trying out how far I can go with that. Also I want to get up in different cities and travel with my stencils.