![ArtofD*Face](https://blog.vandalog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ArtofDFace.jpg)
As Shepard Fairey suggests in his artful introduction to this first-rate survey of D*Face’s artwork and life, D*Face is a master of art that is both subversive and skilled. And of particular appeal to me is that despite his commercial success, the artist continues to use the streets as a canvas.
![DFACE 6](https://blog.vandalog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DFACE-6.jpg)
![DFACE 1](https://blog.vandalog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DFACE-1.jpg)
Like so many artists I’ve spoken to and interviewed, D*Face hated school and survived it through drawing and doodling anything — from bubble letters to cartoons — all over his school books. Through a mix of fortuitous circumstances, hard work and extraordinary skill, he emerged from a working-class family to become one of the globe’s most successful urban artists. Prodded by his determination not to ever work at a job he hated — as he had seen his mom and too many folks do — he was saved by the skateboarding culture that introduced him to graffiti.
![DFACE 7](https://blog.vandalog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DFACE-7.jpg)
He began tagging while looking for spots to skate, and with the discovery of Thrasher Magazine, Subway Art and Spraycan Art, he was on his way to forge a successful career as a street artist, fine artist and designer. And with the launch of his gallery, Stolen Space, in 2005, he’s paved the way for other artists, as well.
![DFACE 3](https://blog.vandalog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DFACE-3.jpg)
Always experimenting and evolving, D*Face represents the best of urban art. With his particular fusion of pop culture and graffiti meshed with his rebellious streak and ingenious imagination, D*Face draws both our eyes and minds into his vision. With its dozens of first-rate images and engaging text, The Art of D*Face: One Man and His Dog — published by Laurence King Publishing — is a model of an artist’s monograph. It came my way just as Banksy left town and it was the perfect antidote!
Photos courtesy Laurence King Publishing