Spray paint is art and life for Liam Weis

By Ethan York

Liam Weis never leaves home without his tools of the trade. After all, he and his spray-cans need to be ready if he comes across the perfect canvas – say, someone wearing a white T-shirt or hoodie.

Many people may still associate spray paint with graffiti, quick tags or murals they pass on the street with a quick glance. But for Weis, a senior sculpture + extended media major in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, it’s his medium of choice – not just as a creative outlet, but as a means to rebuild his life and find purpose.

Growing up in Fairfax in Northern Virginia, Weis had no interest in art and was firmly entrenched on a STEM trajectory. But after a rocky senior year in high school, his worried parents sent him to a rehab center in Raleigh, North Carolina. He then moved into a sober living program, which paired him with a graffiti artist and muralist named Morgan, who became his mentor.

Morgan took Weis to North Carolina State University’s Free Expression Tunnel and handed him a can of spray paint.

“He taught me everything I know,” Weis said, “and laid down the foundation to do everything I do now” – which includes seeing passers-by wearing white as ideal partners. Once he has their permission, he asks what design they may want, which could range from his signature eyes and faces to their favorite animal or vehicle.

But moving from huge walls to the much smaller canvas of clothing didn’t happen right away. And while spray-painting buildings is generally frowned upon, Weis found plenty of opportunities while on family vacations. He always managed to find the art scenes in places like Texas, Canada and Jamaica and would paint the day away with locals, perfecting his technique.

He loved leaving his mark in a public setting, especially when he could involve the local community, but he knew that painting buildings wasn’t a sustainable − or legal − practice.

“So I was like, ‘Why don’t I just approach strangers?’” he said.

This past summer, he began doing just that, asking strangers if he could paint their shirts and then posting the videos online. It was a fun way to pass time and create content.

Then came Aug. 10 − “the day everything changed,” Weis said.

He and his family had just landed in Quebec City for a vacation, and after picking up some paint, he ran to a touristy part of the city, with “lots of people, attractions and whatnot. So I do it – you know, approach strangers.”

Everyone rejected him until one brave teen — who didn’t speak English — agreed.

“His mom was translating,” Weis said. “And I posted it that night. It did normalish [audience numbers] at the time, but then I woke up the next morning, and that video of that kid had like half a million views. And I was like, ‘What the heck?’ I had never had anything go above 10 or 20 thousand views. I was like, ‘Whoa, this is crazy.’”

When he returned to Richmond weeks later for his senior year at VCU, students already recognized him − not as Liam but as “that spray-paint guy,” which he adopted as his moniker.

Though Weis may find a willing audience, he doesn’t view his art as a way of chasing validation through others. It’s about being his true self and showing his vulnerability through his work.

“I tried to sit back and let my art speak for itself for the longest time, and I noticed that didn’t really get me anywhere,” he said. “Not many people are blessed with the luxury of being able to sit back and just post their art and let that successfully grow their social media platform and/or business. We’re in a day and age where people connect, and they’re yearning for connection, authenticity. And you have to show your personality and show who you are and let people see.”