The Creative Orbit of CANTSTOPGOODBOY
Finding the Balance Between Art & Business
Written by B.K. Phillips | Photography by Genevie Pintola
IF the name catches your attention, wait until you see the art. Very few artist’s work will stop you in your tracks like CANTSTOPGOODBOY (CSGB). A menage à trois of color, nostalgia, and refinement applied in an artist brand never seen packaged or presented to the masses and the art world to date.
Nick Simon, 31-year Californian from Malibu, by all intention had the perfect start to becoming one of most internationally recognized and respected street artists. And before we get too hung up on labels, no need to correct me on how I title CSGB’s work, any of the following monikers such as mixed media artist, modern artist or contemporary artist would do. You would be correct if you choose any or all those labels. In the best way possible, Nick is the product of his time. Culture became a lifestyle, an entire generation learned the clichè, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” That generation also happened to be raised in an era where marketing, branding and social media became a habit.
His street moniker was born from the nickname his mother called him.
“I walked in and I found out I was the only artist to sell all their work!”
As it was, Nick at 17, attending
University of Boulder studying business when opportunity literally knocked at
his door. Nick was not pursuing art in college. In fact it wasn’t until he
decided to paint portraits of his roommates and himself that anyone even had an
idea of the depths of his creativity. Years earlier an experience with an art
teacher left Nick with a bitter taste for the craft and he shelved his artistic
expression. He focused on sports and excelled being a goalie for his soccer
club. Inviting me into his home, Nick rolled his right shoulder a few times,
stretching it out. “I dislocated my shoulder last night, it’s an old injury
from being kicked as a goalie,“ he explained. Injuries such as these rarely
dissipate with time and even painting with a passion can “pop” it out with the
right power stroke or paint spatter.
Those portraits Nick painted of himself and his roommates
happened to be visible through a large bay window in their house. Opportunity
knocked in the form of an art enthusiast and the owner of a billboard company
in Los Angeles that happened to be walking down the street. Nick tells me his
roommate called him to the door after the passerby was compelled to approach
the house and find out who created this amazing piece of art. In what could be
a scene from a John Hughes movie, Nick recalls the conversation, paraphrasing:
“Hey, who painted those?”
“Uh, I did…”
“I’m from Los Angeles…”
“Heyyy, I’m from Los Angeles.”
“I own a billboard company and would like to commission you
for some work.”
“Great, I’m in!”
Nick
knew never to turn down an opportunity. Seconds after closing the front door,
Nick called his father, Adam. The two have a unique relationship, unique in
that Adam has provided Nick with some vital advice that goes far beyond what a
father passes down to his son. Another Californian native, Adam Simon’s
entrepreneurial past in entertainment finance provided the perfect mentoring
tools for Nick. And who would we be without our mothers? Nick’s mother was an
artist working in the field of fine art restoration. Nick points out a framed
sketch of a nude woman laying on a couch.“ That piece is by my mom. She
would take me to her work, art exhibits and museums. I would always be around
art, I learned to appreciate art. My mom and dad would ask me to ‘draw this’
and ‘draw that.’”
When a young Nick Simon
showed interest in art and the female form, his mother made a move that I can
only imagine made her more popular than Stacy’s Mom (Fountain Of Wayne) in the
neighborhood. She supplied Nick with all the art supplies a young artist would
need…and a stack of Playboy magazines. Of course, she waited until he was a bit
older. “So as a teenager, I was like, Oh yeah! But the only way I would [be
allowed] to see them, was to copy them. So, I originally got into drawing
realistic nudes. That’s how I learned to draw. Other than my mom and dad’s
encouragement, I’m a self-taught artist.”
Nick’s emergence, his
timing manifested at a crossroad of an era that recognized the value of
talented artists not exclusively hung on the walls of galleries around the
world. Nick’s vibe comes directly from the artist of the 60’s that flooded the
city of his birth, Malibu, California, yet much more modern. Street art would
be the major influence that guided Nick to become the talent he is today.
Compared to artists of the past he might stand with a Picasso, another street
and mix media artist. Today, his peers include Shepard Fairey or Banksy. And
perhaps closer to the latter, CANTSTOPGOODBOY would be a faceless artist on the
street art scene. While many street artists remain anonymous for a variety of
reasons, Nick’s was a simple one, “I was still in school and remaining an
anonymous street artist just worked better.” With the coming of age of social
media his anonymity became part of his brand by a simple act. By covering his
face with his trucker hat, he created the mystique.
“Wannabe” Warhol #2
His street moniker was born from the nickname his mother called him and with the unknowing help of Boulder Colorado’s department of street management. If you lived in or passed through the city of Boulder Colorado in the late nineties you undoubtedly witnessed stop signs with the words “Good Boy”, plastered beneath the word ‘STOP.” Forty-seven ‘STOP’ signs later, the local buzz of this hot new street artist began to pick up.
The first step, in what turns out to be the pinch of salt to his creative recipe, was to add the word ‘Can’t’ above the ‘STOP.’ He realized he had caught fire as he began to overhear conversations in class. Nick vividly recalls, “I would go to class,” Nick looks over at his father to acknowledge the next bit of information has been mentioned in the family history before, “… the one time I would go to class, this guy next to me goes, ‘Hey man, did you see that stop sign that says “Goodboy”?’ And another guy chimed in, ‘Yeah, it says “Can’t stop Good Boy”’. I knew that was it, CANTSTOPGOODBOY.”
I’m not sure Nick needed to major in business in school. He was a natural in leveraging his artwork very quickly. He dominated the street art scene from his home in Colorado. “Many people assumed I was living in Los Angeles. I was flying back and forth from Boulder to LA. One of my first shows I remember showing out to see a line of people waiting to get in,” Nick happily recalls. Later, he learned all his art was sold first. More than impressed, the gallery and its sponsors immediately booked a much larger show for Nick, barely past his 17th birthday.
Diana And The Purple Dream
RC Tour Bus
The Monarch
Great Wide Open
Magical Mystery Tour
Values Are LIke Fingerprints
The next expo landed CSGB among giants. “I get a call from this guy and ask if I want to be part of this show he is putting together. He says he is doing a show in LA with a couple of artists I may know. It was Banksy, Shepard Fairy, Mr. Brainwash and a bunch of top artists. I was like, no way. He says ‘You’ll be the youngest guy there and nobody will know who you are. But your work meshes with everyone.’ I come in (to drop off my paintings), Shepard Fairy’s there hanging paintings, Mr. Brainwash is running around being crazy and a team of people, I don’t know who they were, come in and hang Banksy work,” Nick bemuses.
The day of the show proved another affirming experience. “I walked in and I found out I was the only artist to sell all their work!” All the momentum led to a magazine cover and officially taking his seat at the art world table. “15 years later…I’ve worked with so many companies such as Atlantic Records, Sony, Warner Bros., Serj Tankian, Absolut Vodka and Converse.” CSGB art embodies the excitement that flashy entertainment visually provides us. It was no surprise these companies found their way to his doorstep.
Every step Nick orchestrated from the conception of CANTSTOPGOODBOY, has shown not just the depths of Nick’s talent, but an artistry of the business of branding. One of Nick’s good friends happens to be a member of a very successful rock group. After some convincing, he designed an album cover that led to being hired to design their tours aesthetics, including merchandise and stage design. This led to other tour designs for other major artists such as Bruno Mars. Along the way there was Cochella and a little show called American Idol. Nick designed an entire season for the singing competition show. He was even a guest on opening night, joining Ryan Seacrest to open the season’s premiere.
Nick’s business minded approach is something to be marveled. Many of his peers never found the comfort zone walking the fine line of art and business. Basquiat comes to mind. Nick’s artwork perfectly meshes with the timely need and demand for merchandise. The items found on CSGB’s website all come with the same authentication as his fine art – be it mugs, trucker caps or hoodies. Creative appreciation happens in many forms, because not all purchase power is in the $10,000 to $25,000 plus range, normal for CANTSTOPGOODBOY fine art.
Nick understands that value is in what each of us places in what we like. He offers smaller pieces of affordable art to his followers. You can pick up respectable fine street art for $25.00. “We just released these prints, 8 x 10’s for $50.00,” Nick’s father, Adam is sure to mention. “Just because it’s $25.00 or $50.00, the same amount of blood sweat and tears goes into it.” Nick agrees. Yes, those authentications come with the 8 x 10 prints as well.
Nick loves what his art does for people. What makes his art work? What makes Miles Davis’ concoction of licks and outburst work on Bitches Brew? I’m surely not able to intelligently point these things out. Not because of a loss of words, but because while we can stand shoulder to shoulder viewing the same artwork, without question we would have two different perspectives. CANTSTOPGOODBOY takes you on the journey you did not know you needed. –