/>“I’m an artist living just outside LA who goes by Gloom, mainly, and Teo every
now and again, when feeling personable.  Now, I haven’t reached Tofer- or
Buffmonster-like heights yet and, most likely, never will, because I’m pretty
lazy and have a job which forces me to bed much earlier than I like.  But I love
street art nonetheless and do what I can when I can do it.  I’ve loved it all
since first seeing Style Wars way back when, and will probably still be carrying
a Pilot when some fifty-seven years old.  But getting to the nonsense of this
all a small sampling of my work
can be seen at Fotki, a clean and easy photosharing site (way better than
Fotolog, if I may say so):  Unfortunately, my digital camera was stolen awhile
back so I’m forced to use my trusty Polaroid, which, as it turns out is alright
by me, as it adds to the gloominess.  It’s mostly my Mystery Girl and a few
paintings; nothing much but a quiet start. My undying appreciation…. Most
sincerely, Gloom”

Gloom - The Vitals:

/>Age: 26
Hometown: Los Angeles
/>Where do you now live: Los Angeles
How long have you been
creating street art?: Off and on for about four years.  Trying to get a
bit more serious about things though, just within the last year and a half or
so.
What did you do last night?: Ah, last night, let’s
see; just hungout with some friends, smoking, drinking and talking alot of
nonsense, all while messing around in a sketchbook.  The usual.
/>What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner?: Pretty much
any and everything.  But if I were in a jail cell, waiting around for my lethal
injection and was asked what I’d like for my last meal, I’m thinking, simply,
pizza, loaded with pepperoni, mushrooms and black olives.
Who is
your favorite fictional character?: href="http://www.infulltechnicolor.com/etc/margot.html">Margot Tenebaum. 
Mmm.
What do you currently have in your pockets?:  Well,
I’ve just woken up, so nothing yet.  Then again, even when I’m awake and ready
to go, rarely do I have much in my pockets but some keys and a crumpled sticker
or two.
If you were given “more time,” what would you do with it?: 
I know I’d find some way to waste it, sadly.  Seeing a bit of the world
wouldn’t be so bad though, I guess.
Who do you love?: An
incredible girl named Ashlye Perez.

Gloom - The A’s to Our Q’s:

Wooster: How did you get started in creating art
for the street?

Gloom: I’ve been into art forever,
but it was graffiti, of course, that started this whole thing; the Subway Art
book in particular, as it was for many of us.  But back in the eighties, it was
actually seeing this one spot off the 110 freeway near my father’s house that
we’d always pass when going places that would just be covered, and to the young
kid I was, all those pinks and blues were like candy to me.  I’d always bug my
dad with questions about it, all the whos and whats, but he didn’t have the
answers.  So, probably in hopes that I’d give it a rest already, he finally took
me down to this stretch of wall one day, with a camera.  Then I discovered the
design thing, and, well, you know the rest; the combining of mediums-the natural
progression of things.

Wooster: Who’s the girl?
/>
"left">Gloom: Ah, the girl.  Well, I have no idea.  She
happened to be in a picture I took at a party years ago, and I remember she
wasn’t feeling well.  She wasn’t drunk or fucked up, just genuinely sick, and
simply waiting to use the restroom.  There was something about her stance and
stare that caught my eye once the pictures were developed, something I hadn’t
exactly notice at the time it was taken; so, later, put my own spin on the
theme, and bam.  I just think it’s cool she’s out there in the world somewhere
and has no idea as to the part she plays.

Wooster:
What other street artists do you most admire and why?

/>Gloom: Let’s just say if Faile and Swoon were to have a baby
I’d like to think it’d be named Gloom.  I dream of owning a house someday and
seeing if they’d all just spend a week there, covering every inch of the fucking
place, inside and out.  I’m just hoping to see a Swoon piece in person, on an
actual New York wall (having never been), after which, when I finally die, I can
die happy.  Faile-the ultimate; anything goes, everything works.  Akroe as well;
some focused shit; clean-color scheme-composition king; I look at this stuff and
get extremely jealous.

Wooster: What’s your favorite
city, neighborhood, or block, to post and/or to see street art?

/>Gloom: I’ll put it wherever I can put it and see it where
and whenever I see it.  I don’t have any favorites.  LA definitely has its
spots, but it’s so big that there are still a lot of areas left untouched, aside
from a lot of misguided tagging, so I enjoy getting my silly little posters up
in these areas that aren’t really known for seeing street art.

/>Wooster: What inspires you now?

Gloom: DJ Shadow,
sunsets at the beach, sushi, weekends, Wooster, the underappreciated work of Cy
Twombly, John Coltrane, Wes Anderson films, the documentary The Gods of Times
Square, the beginning of Style Wars, the smell of a new Magnum44, when my friend
Gabe gives a disinterested look when I start talking about street and Jerome
says he hates graffiti art, downtown LA, Lee Perry along with classic Jamaican
record shop art and album design, new, all white, shelltoe Adidas, Majandra
Delfino, Beautiful Decay, partying with my friend Tor, Aesop Rock, painting in
the garage with Infa (another good friend), Coast to Coast radio program,
puppies, Miller High Life, the words of David Sedaris, letters in the mail
(which I need to start sending more of again), used stencils, and Ashlye’s back
rubs.

Wooster: What are you currently working on? 
Can you give us a sneak peek?

Gloom: Unfortunately,
I’m not working on anything serious at the moment.  It seems I’m in one of my
many slumps.  I’ve got to do something about this, soon.  Where’s Ashlye?  I
need a back rub.