| The only way I know that the illustrator, designer | | | | marketing skills. It is also good timing for artists of |
| and street artist Toofly's real name is Maria | | | | her ilk to go legit, as the march of progress has |
| Castillo is because that's the name displayed with | | | | made itself known in many urban areas by the |
| her e-mail address. I suppose I should be more | | | | presence of video surveillance cameras and other |
| cautious and say that I assume that it's her real | | | | anti-graffiti measures. Whether it's on canvas, a |
| name. Frankly, I didn't think it was important | | | | brick wall or a greeting card, Toofly says, art is |
| enough to ask her about. | | | | still art. "I still have a purpose, and the freedom to |
| The lady is getting a lot of ink these days. Maybe | | | | dream up my own reality, and no one can take |
| we need a new term for that; let's say she's | | | | that away from me." |
| propagating billions of editorial pixels. That would | | | | Toofly has plenty of tools -- spray cans, brushes, |
| be in addition to the untold gazillions of pixels that | | | | pens, crayons, chalk, mop heads, whatever works |
| her art generates on computer screens around | | | | -- and plenty of influences too, "from all over the |
| the world, those well-lit but low-resolution 2D | | | | place," she says, "like fashion photography, graphic |
| images that, try as they might, just can't quite do | | | | design and various contemporary and historic |
| justice to the lady's work as seen in Real Life. | | | | artists." Comic (excuse me, graphic novel) |
| Started with comics Let's back up a bit as long as | | | | illustrators like Jim Lee and Scott Campbell are |
| we're talking Real Life, and hip you to Toofly | | | | faves, as she "grew up drawing their female |
| growing up in Corona, Queens (New York) | | | | characters." Boris Vallejo's fantasy painting was a |
| "around some Italians and a lot of South American | | | | strong influence, but perhaps the greatest |
| and Dominican families, in a small little one-family | | | | influence was graffiti writer Sabe -- "because," |
| house" with her grandparents, mom, uncle, aunts | | | | Toofly admits, "if it weren't for his drawings and |
| and younger cousin. Toofly liked drawing as far | | | | tags in those classrooms I may have ended up |
| back as she could remember, and confesses that | | | | somewhere else." |
| she would "sneak into my uncle's room and grab | | | | The Muses knock on a lot of doors at Toofly's |
| his X-Men comics and try to draw some of the | | | | house. "I'm moved by emotional music," Toofly |
| female characters, especially Jean Grey." | | | | says, "whether it's Led Zeppelin, Muse or Mary J. |
| Those were the early days, the artist recalls, of | | | | Blige love songs. I also listen to freestyle and 90s |
| "discovering what a strong female looked like." | | | | hip-hop classics to get me back to my roots." The |
| Soon enough, when Toofly started at New York's | | | | lady is a virtual melting pot herself, and the |
| High School of Fashion Industries in 1991, she | | | | rhythms of her life and times are easily discerned |
| would discover what a strong female acted like, | | | | in the characters she draws, taut as coiled |
| too. "I was taking fashion design classes but | | | | springs, energy ready to blow up into something |
| realized that I would much rather draw and paint | | | | new and unexpected. |
| than sew clothes. When I walked into a classroom | | | | Enjoying "every good moment" Besides all her |
| with walls full of graffiti tags and character | | | | work that people can find on the web (just the |
| illustrations, that did it for me. I had discovered | | | | term "artist Toofly" will get you well over a |
| what I was meant to do." | | | | thousand hits), she has some group gallery shows |
| Street walls to Wall Street Toofly has since taken | | | | coming up, graffiti productions throughout New |
| her street-wall sensibility into areas that Wall | | | | York's five boroughs and various events where |
| Street can relate to, like commerce. "I do a lot of | | | | the artist will paint live or speak. Toofly is also |
| everything these days," she says, "and there's | | | | starting to sell her line of products and art prints |
| always something new I'm doing. My freelance | | | | on her own site as well as different boutiques and |
| pretty much supports me, and everything else is | | | | lifestyle shops in the U.S., Europe and, soon, Japan. |
| extra fun stuff." Even with her illustrations licensed | | | | Toofly has her priorities in order. She is involved in |
| for all manner of t-shirts, bags, totes and prints, | | | | organizing and promoting youth workshops of |
| she doesn"t claim to have "made it big," and | | | | various kinds, helping kids find places to create |
| admits, "I just recently arrived to the gallery | | | | their art without ending up on video security |
| scene, and little by little I'm starting to send my | | | | tapes, trying to give back to the community that |
| press kit and proposals around to various | | | | nurtured her. "I was given a chance to experience |
| corporations for those big commission deals. It's | | | | life, good and bad, to learn and have fun in it," she |
| got to be right though," Toofly asserts, "because | | | | reflects. "You have to accept that things do not |
| I'm not just going to do anything for money." | | | | last forever, so try to enjoy every good |
| Still, the fact she can make money today -- with | | | | moment you can create. It helps to know that at |
| an art style born of equal parts bravado, talent | | | | the end of the day, I can fall and get up again, |
| and, quite often, misdemeanor trespass -- | | | | and if it's not meant for me anymore, then that's |
| testifies to her persistence as well as savvy | | | | okay too. |