He doesn't have much patience when it comes to painting, but he likes to work a lot on his posters and digital graphics and spend time on smaller details. He always has an urge to create something. It's been with him since he was little and will probably stay with him forever. 

When did your first work hit the streets? 

The first lame tags were on the wall when I was in seventh or eighth grade, then some really lame templates and stickers when I was about 14. Relatively late, during college, at 19, I started painting with cans on abandoned, dilapidated buildings in Eger. Or, in the same place, I was scattering stencil or hand-drawn, largely forgettable stuff on the streets on other media (tiles, scrap wood) around 2010. From then on, I was always creating something with small or big breaks and experimenting with thousands of names. I have been creating under the name Dartes since 2021. 

Where did the stage name come from? 

A few years ago, I worked briefly in England. My first days were spent doing the official paperwork to get the job. In the process, a clerk guy with a strong Indian accent really, really misunderstood my name and renamed me Dartes :). I liked the name immediately.

How did your style evolve and what would you call it?

My style is constantly changing and evolving. I'm always experimenting and because of that, I often feel like my style is a mess and not very consistent. For sure, I like straight lines and combining simple geometric shapes to build more complex things. I don't have a lot of patience when it comes to painting, but on my posters and digital graphics I like to work a lot and spend time on smaller details. It's simple, childish stuff. 🙂

What does a creative process look like for you?

In 90% of the cases, I do a very simple sketch on a piece of paper in the most basic way, with a pencil. I've never had a proper blackbook and I don't feel like fiddling with colours when sketching. I make my posters and stickers digitally from sketches, most of the time vector in Adobe Illustrator. And most of the time I don't even draw by hand, but I modify, duplicate, combine and stack the basic shapes (squares, circles, polygons...) on many layers in the software.

When it's done, I'll send it to a printer who will work cheaply and never ask any questions. I can tell they've never even looked at my instagram page. 😀 A year and a half ago I got hooked on the poster format, which I had never tried before. Since then, I've loved the fact that you can put up a detailed piece of artwork in a short space of time, at a size that can be seen with the naked eye. The classic chalky rice has also worked for me as an adhesive. You need a good wide brush to get a progressive application and you're done.

What inspires you to create? 

I always have an urge to create something. It's been with me since I was little and will probably stay with me forever. It's important that I feel good while I'm creating something. I'm also very influenced by the work of other talented people, which always inspires me to improve and try new techniques and styles. I've always loved the early stuff of graphic artists like 123Klan or Károly Királyfalvi (Extraverage), and of course I've also been influenced by the work of old school Hungarian and foreign graffiti legends. But often a good song is a good starting point for a graphic.

Do you see street art as a hobby or a livelihood?

I've never made anything to order in this field, so it's absolutely a hobby for me. In my opinion, only those who are really good at it can make a living at home. However, it has crossed my mind that in wealthier European countries it could be an exciting adventure to do something in the form of decorative painting / street art. I really like my current job, but I may one day upset the desk and just paint somewhere in Western Europe for the rest of my life. 😀

What do you think of street art? 

In my mind there is no separation between street art and graffiti. For me it comes from the same dagger. It is the embodiment of creativity and freedom on different surfaces, in different forms and styles. I love looking at dirty street tags and chrome black bombings as much as I love looking at stickers, posters or huge colourful street art paintings. As long as I feel the artwork is honest, I think there's no problem. There's a lot of room for experimentation in street art, which is really important to me. Of course, there are some very sweaty, over-hyped street artists, especially abroad, but there's nothing wrong with that either.

How do you see the current situation of subculture in Hungary? 

It's good to see that there are always active faces. If not many, it's great to have jams, legals, exhibition openings, activities. I really like the All Caps team's love and activity for subculture. You can never have enough of those. However, I don't understand the pointless discord and animosity. Some people think graffiti is a war, and take it as an ancient, tribal, territorial declaration of war if someone is active, creates a lot and/or creates very well. I've never had that happen to me, because none of it is true :D, but I hear stories from friends. It's bad enough worrying about the commoners, cops, sectarians and self-proclaimed Rambos. We should be glad we are part of a subculture. We are not against each other, but for each other.

What is the most memorable story that happened to you while exhibiting your work? 

Once, my friend Eztne and I looked for a long concrete surface, sloping at about 45 degrees, somewhere on the banks of the Danube, in a very quiet, secluded place. Industrial facilities are just nearby. I was still writing my old name at the time. We both designed a nice big rollup that can be seen from the other side of the river. We pulled in the car early in the evening and saw the area was all boarded up, full of all the big machinery. They've started to build something there but the surface is untouched. However, a couple had been hired to guard the expensive machinery and equipment, and they were standing guard just above the spot we were looking at, a few metres away. In the end, we decided we wanted to fish the spot if we could. We almost looked like fishermen with buckets and telescopic poles. 😀 When we got to them, we saw that the two men were as dark as night, so we told them with the utmost calm that we had come to paint the wall. They say: 

"Sure, let's go." We could see that they were totally incompetent and would not find our presence worth mentioning. We painted in dead calm and finally said goodbye. My drawing was a piece of shit, but at least it was big. 😀 Anyway, the surface probably didn't belong to them and if the police had come out it wouldn't have been a big problem, but it was a very funny two forms. 

They existed in a completely different universe.

What has this subculture given you over the years? 

Only good things. Over 15 years of friendships. Lots of good and exciting moments.

What would you say to those who are just getting to know the genre? 

Have fun doing it and do it for yourself. You don't have to please others. Personally, I have always strived to be able to enjoy the freedom of this kind of creation, while respecting others as much as possible. Unfortunately, it's not always going to work out completely, because there's always going to be some old, empty shop window that if you mess it up, somebody's not going to like it. 

Who would you thank for making you stick to your art? 

For me, creating is a basic need, like eating or drinking, so I will always stick to it. But I am grateful to my parents who were open to it from the beginning. To my friends, fellow painters, whom I met at the beginning of the journey and we are still very good friends to this day: Ombre, Emis, Eztne and everyone else I have forgotten. And finally, thank you all for the honour of contacting me.