My name is Timoi. I became active in 1995; although drawing had always been part of my life it wasn’t until I moved to Los Angeles from Guatemala in 1990 that I was introduced to Graffiti art. I couldn’t keep my eyes from the art on the freeways, windows, poles, billboards, letters and characters telling stories.

Surreptitious graffiti is what inspired me the most, I cannot tell you names of the artists on auto shops and liquor stores because I don’t remember them. What always caught my attention was the art on heavens, the fwy walls, tags on poles, street lights and phone books.

I believe the tag is a seed that can one day become a beautiful fruitful tree if given the opportunity.

Ayer LTS defined graffiti for me; I didn’t grow up on graffiti magazines or books so I based everything on what I saw on my daily commute in LA. Growing up in LA county I was really inspired by crews like LTS, KOG, TKO, MSK, AWR, WCA, RTN and artists like Tribe, Zes, Retna, Gkae, Chaka, Oiler, Cre8, Mear, Verse, Aybon, Atlas, Klean and Revok.  

Other artists in the graffiti realm I admire are Banksy, Saber, Lady Pink, Jerk, Jel, Aroe Msk, Cope2, Indie184, Craola, Rime, ROID, Kween, Askew, Ezra, Chor Boogie, Augor, Apex, Risk, Seak, Os Gemeos, Nina, Vulcan, Chaka, Charlie DTK, Dream DTK and many others. The reason why I like these artists as well is because they define graffiti and spray can art to me. As simple or intricate these artists are passionate about what they do/did.

I really enjoyed these crews and artists growing up because they put in work in the streets. The higher up or the more difficult it looked the more inspired I got. What still drives me today is the rush of getting away with painting whatever I want on the wall. Politics and freedom of speech drive me as well. I do it because it gives me balance, because I love letters/characters and because it feels great and it feels right.

I believe that through my characters I display my femininity and through my letters I display my masculinity. I do understand that in order to thrive in the graffiti scene one must camouflage oneself because some men don’t know how to act around feminine women.

I do not allow myself to be limited by what others might consider good or bad ‘for a girl.’ Such comments usually come from ignorant individuals who just don’t know any better. 

Only through time and through painting does one acquire style and I believe my work speaks for itself and its more known than me.

My best experiences painting have been my sola missions. Dressing up like a boy, giving away my beer and conversing with the homeless. One night I was so under the influence, not only did I paint the worse piece on a busy street rooftop I also broke off the T to the shops sign as I was falling to the ground; I lost my breath and I probably laid on the floor for a couple of minutes. It was a big fail! Drinking is only good for dancing.

My favorite bomb was one I did on a billboard on the side of a fwy; I remember I did a character and a Timoi followed by DIE the crew I was pushing at the time. I was pretty much toy still at the time in 2003 but what I loved most was the missions. 
The billboard was ridiculously high and the “We are here to serve and protect you” people station was just around the corner. I felt invincible after coming down from it until the next day as I was driving to work I got to take a picture of it getting buffed, maybe if I wasn’t such a toy it would have lasted at least a couple of days. I have several favorite ones yet as raw as they might be I enjoy my missions the most.

I had the most fun from 1995 to 2003 until I got caught. To this day I still believe that if I would have gone on that mission alone I wouldn’t have gotten caught. Luckily I was only in jail for two days and with the help of a friend lawyer my case was dropped, unfortunately in the process I lost my tools and black books. Although that didn’t stop me from still doing what I loved it did make me think twice so at that time I began to inquire about  painting legal walls and soon after I moved to San Bernardino where I began my legal wall painting. At this point I began to explore more of the spray can technique and brand choices. I have been painting walls with permission since 2004 and since I have painted along side some amazing artists and shared much nicer work and introduced the Killer Calo Series to a bigger audience.

I share my art on walls with other artists as well as I paint my own walls. I have also participated at the BBoy BBQ in San Diego and Meeting of styles in NYC and LA. I now also do canvas art work that I display and sell at galleries and various art events. As of now I have had several solo shows and plan to continue growing in this realm. I had my first gallery show in 2002, curated my first show “WITHIN” in 2005 and 2007 along with other small shows. I am also occasionally invited to paint live, conduct workshops or participate in graffiti art panels. I have a couple theme shows coming up.

I follow graffiti on the street whether it is toy or not, I love to see toys evolve on the freeways and key areas that are without permission. That is freedom.

Unfortunately the price to pay to beautify city property is higher than the price to pay for real crimes. 

Instead of criminalizing graffiti artists, we should be given scholarships and grants to grow. 

The city should be grateful to house super talented and skilled artists. As we all know prolific graffiti writer Revok just got arrested and without bail, with as much money corporations are making out of graffiti writing culture, this artist should be compensated not incriminated. $320, 000 should be the price of one of his paintings. Unfortunately Revok is not the only artist in Jail unjustly. There are also others. And some very young, doing time that real criminals should be doing.

How do you feel as a female in a majorly male dominated culture?
Personally it has been a lonely road; not only have I always been very quiet and mainly observant of my surroundings, I have also been very stubborn. The older I got the harder it got to have painting partners and the criticism of women in graffiti didn’t make the scene welcoming for me. If guys weren’t trying to get with me because of graffiti, they thought I wanted to get with them. Perhaps I have fallen in love with a couple but it wasn’t the couple that made me fall in love with graffiti. Graffiti and I have a very personal and lasting relationship and it very seldom has anything to do with other writers. I have been blessed to be recognized by respectable individuals, organizations and publications and it feels good. I like doing things 100% and graffiti is part of my life. Graffiti might not be a serious matter to most but to some of us it’s our life, I don’t know any other way to live and I don’t want any other way to live.

Although I knew there were risks I would take on my sola missions, I preferred that from rolling with a bunch of male writers and claiming my fame to their names. The names I mention are because I truly admire their work, not because I have painted with them or I am claiming to know them. Fortunately, I have been blessed enough to meet artists who have, even if shortly, shown me techniques and given me advice and constructive criticism that have made me grow a whole lot.

I love Graffiti and there is no doubt or fear about it. Graffiti is my life and being a female is like the ‘a la mode’ on an apple pie.

Even now days there are a lot of females that get up surreptitiously who get a lot less recognition than some of these legal yard junkies. As soon as a female gets some recognition she has to be broken down by a society of males and male cheer leaders. If it’s not one thing it’s another. One of the latest ridiculously talented female artist is Mad C, regardless of her talent and skill there are other lesser talented males getting more recognition than her. Talent and skill has nothing to do with gender when given equal opportunities. 

What are your views on graffiti art being displayed in galleries? Do you think this legitimizes graff, or commercializes it?
This question gives me a bit of a headache. I think it’s great having graffiti art in galleries and I think it does legitimize graffiti art but only in the gallery scene. The fact that galleries and even museums today are showcasing graffiti art doesn’t stop city officials from criminalizing anyone with the passion for graffiti. 

As corporations profit from the commercialization of graffiti, the ones who are practitioners of the art who profit from their own culture are seldom. 

Are you involved with any community, nonprofit or artist organizations?
Currently I am the president of Mujeres Iniciando en las Americas, an organization that focuses on the eradication of violence against women in Gautemala by providing empowering and educational workshops and resources to Kids, women and men with the hopes to bring change from Washington DC to all the corners of Guatemala and beyond, visit us at miamericas.info. I also have a group show brewing called “Industrial Minds” Life, Love and Rust which profits will go to fund these workshops being conducted in Guatemalas schools and Police Academies. One of the latest Art organizations I have been a part of is Room 13, which is grass roots, self sustainable art program at a public school. Currently I am not doing much with Room 13 yet it is an organization I support and encourage other artists to do as well. They welcome artists from all walks of life to visit and participate in studio time. I have also collaborated with Self Help Graphics.

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Well, thank you, LAGraffitiGirls.com for the light and for providing a space for the ladies in the game. I want to thank TheHigherPath.com for sponsoring the latest mural. I want to thank two very special and supportive brothers, DJ Ethos (djethos.com) and Pep Williams (Pepwilliamsphotography.com).

Shout outs to Jeyd, 3030, Bash, Oiler, Zamer, Eriberto Oriol, Angelica Oriol, Chor Boogie, Pose 2, B.A, Fawksie, Dose LBC, Trust Your Struggle, Earthstones, Cope 2, Indie 184, Melissa Chiprin, M.I.A, LA, NYC, MIAMI, SF, Droopy and Ana, Allegra, Paola, Hush and all my Fam… Thanks for all the support. 

To learn more about Timoi, visit timoi.com!
Photos Credit/thanks: Pep Williams, Roger Steffens, Lucy Castro, Eriberto Oriol