Drinking a tall boy of Miller High Life and hanging out with local artist Rene Arriagada at his new show at Beep Beep Gallery on Ponce De Leon Avenue…

Dry Ink: When did you move to Atlanta?

Rene Arriagada: My family moved here from New York when I was little. I grew up in Decatur and Atlanta. I’ve been here since I was 3 years old.

DI: What is the name of this show?

RA: Death Stencil.

DI: How long have you been doing art?

RA: I’ve been doing stencil work since 2000 I think. I’ve taken art seriously for about five years now.

DI: And how long have you been growing that mustache? I have to say it’s quite amazing.

RA: On and off for about six months, but seriously for three months.

DI: How would you describe your style?

RA: Street art, stencil work, photo realistic.

DI: And what’s next for you?

RA: As an artist you just want to top yourself. I just want to always get better. I want to challenge myself and outdo myself.

DI: How many shows a year do you do?

RA: Well, I enter a few pieces into probably 20 shows a year where I work with several other artists. I might do a few on my own.

DI: How long is this show going on?

RA: It opened May 31st and is going ‘til June 22nd. Y’all come on out.

DI: What’s the idea of this show? What’s the theme?

RA: Well, I did it along with another artist by the name of Blink. He’sgreat. The theme for me is just the love of old horror movies. I love monster movies. I also wanted to point out that we’re the villains. We’re monsters but don’t care to acknowledge it.

DI: How long does it take to do one piece?

RA: Anywhere from three to six hours. They are all hand cut stencils. I’ll draw over them and put it on two layers of wood. It’s a slow process.

DI: How’d you get into doing this?

RA: Just over the years I developed a love for it. My dad’s a woodworker. I’ve helped him build since I was a teenager. I helped Jim Stacey build the wooden ship for Mastodon’s “Seabeast” video. I’m just trying to improve my woodworking skills and improve as an artist. I started off doing a series called Skull Fuck a few years back and it’s grown into this. I considered myself a street terrorist for years, and now I’m putting it into galleries.

DI: Thank you for your time and you kids get out to Beep Beep Gallery.