Featured Artists

Steve Miles NAPA

Originally from Warley in the West Midlands, I moved to the Isle of Wight in 1994 and worked as a Graphic Designer for various Island companies, and currently work for Stainless Games Ltd. as a Graphic Designer and Artist on videogames.

I began painting graffiti in the early 1980s under the tag Toxic363. At an early age (around 11) I was introduced to what was, at the time, a little known cultural phenomenon from the States called 'Hip Hop'. I was not much good at the Breaking but I was intrigued by the Graffiti section of the article that featured the Bronx writer Brim. I was really into drawing so I started to get in to the Graff by practicing my own letters every day at school and often into the early hours of the morning at home. I was hooked like some kind of Alphabet junkie! I spent my teenage years painting Graffiti, and was in various Crews over the years, but the one I have stuck with is TIC (the Imperial Creations).

I decided to take my artwork more seriously and get into Graphic Design as a career, and in 1992 enrolled in a general art and design course at Stourbridge Art College.

In 1994 I moved to Freshwater on the Isle of Wight with my wife Rachael, and landed myself a job in a

local design agency where I quickly learned the industry had changed fast and there was lots of new technical processes and things to learn. Armed with my accumulated knowledge of imaging software, I then moved from graphic design to videogame design.

All of this previous experience helped to direct my own, personal creative thoughts. In 2010 I established a permanent studio space at home, and had the opportunity for a fresh start on pursuing my own creative ideas. I proceeded to experiment with different styles and approaches - Improvising, experimenting and progressing my work from the wall to canvas. My current way of expressing my creative thoughts, is what I have come to call 'UrbanDistress'..

In 2018 I was accepted into the ‘National Acrylic Painters Association’ (NAPA) and won an award in my first NAPA collective exhibition.