Scrawl Collective

Will Barras

Will Barras along with Mr Jago and Steff is one of the original Scrawl Collective members. He was already on the road to success with the now famous Hip Hop Don't Stop sleeves already under his belt when the collective first formed. Like his compadre Mr Jago, Will began his glittering career in a call centre. Doodling stopped him going insane, and he developed a fucked up way to hold a pencil and a distinctive illustrative style which to this day is like no one else on earth. ... Read more Will Barras along with Mr Jago and Steff is one of the original Scrawl Collective members. He was already on the road to success with the now famous Hip Hop Don't Stop sleeves already under his belt when the collective first formed. Like his compadre Mr Jago, Will began his glittering career in a call centre. Doodling stopped him going insane, and he developed a fucked up way to hold a pencil and a distinctive illustrative style which to this day is like no one else on earth.

He is one of those artists that it is almost impossible to copy because, well everyone knows it as his style and his alone. Over the years, Will has developed from the hip hop and skater/bmx graphics which made his name into areas a great deal wilder and more unpredictable. This unwillingness to be pinned down has served him well and helped him free himself from the associations that once would have pigeonholed him all too neatly. He went through a rodeo period at one point furiously painting riders atop raging bulls this evolved into an interest in hunting scenes set against strangely coloured sunsets. Since then his work has become increasingly psychedelic and his murals, well, just strange.

You want proof? Look at his recent mural for The Peoples Republic bar in London or his sleeve art for The Warlocks. Of all the Scrawl Collective artists Will is probably the best known and the most sought after both for commercial and private commissions. He is also without doubt the hardest working, he divides himself between directing for the Animation Production Company Bermuda Shorts and a truly grueling exhibition and event schedule. God help him if they ever re-introduce the three day week.