Ben Eine

I love to paint and beautify the most unexpected of places - I've painted everything from doorways to trains but have always wanted to do something really huge and different. ”

Old typography or letter woodblocks that are hand-carved, cracked, and worn are especially beautiful. I love that aged, handmade effect, and that's why I don't muck around much with Photoshop. ”

Anyone can lose their home and find their life is turned upside down. ”

You can't be a punk all your life. ”

When I got into graffiti, it was the most-exciting art form and it changed the course of my life. ”

Whenever I go anywhere in the world to do a show I try to paint something in the street as well. ”

I did long-term re-insurance claims. Asbestos, health hazards, pollution. It was very boring. But I've got quite a mathematical brain and it paid well. ”

It makes me really proud to be able to use my art to spread positive messages around the world. ”

David Cameron has given one of my paintings to President Obama. It's quite mad, really. But it's OK. It's not the kind of recognition I seek or get every day, but Cameron seems quite a positive kind of guy and Obama's a dude. I would probably have had issues if it had been for Bush. ”

I remember finding this book, which showed a New York subway train that had been covered in so much graffiti you couldn't recognise it was a train. I thought, ‘I want to do that… how do you do that?'" ”