I caught up with the Los Angeles artist to talk about the collaborative graphic included in the Winter 2024 Collection, his signature style, and the emotions conveyed throughout his artwork. Read the interview below and shop the Dead Sleep T-Shirt by Sob Story here and and the Dead Sleep Snapback here.

Sandy Mosqueda: How’s your day going today?

Sob Story: My day is going great, thanks for asking. Things tend to get busy towards the end of the year, busy is good though. Most days I’m constantly switching back and forth between administrative work and the nitty gritty hands-on stuff.

I’m glad to have the opportunity to interview you, the piece you made for the Winter 2024 Collection is in my office – I see it every day! You have a group of characters that you use throughout your art. Does the crew have a name?

The pleasure is all mine, I painted this particular piece last winter and I’ve been really excited to end the year off with this collaboration.

In regards to the characters, I can’t really say I have a name for the crew, now that I’m thinking about it there really should be. I tend to label them as “FRIENDS” whenever I’m cataloging on my online shop/archives.

I read somewhere that the palette you work in typically matches your characters’ behaviors. Does that mean that each of your characters has a background profile and story? If so, what’s the story behind the character you used in the Winter 2024 graphic?

My palette can be a bit bright and obnoxious. And in truth, it used to be a crutch when I was trying to translate it into clothing. I grew up in rave/punk culture so it kind of went hand-in-hand at first but I’ve been trying to expand into different motifs as of lately.

The colors are definitely a reflection of my experiences through all the characters that I’ve met in real life.

The character I used for this design was actually the first attempt to pivot into a less aggressive style and what I mean by that is simply using more skin tones and shading rather than bold lines, bright yellows, and reds. My palette started looking too “circus” and I wanted to challenge myself out of that.

Throughout the year I had the opportunity to do other collaborations with brands that ended up releasing sooner than this one however; this character for The Hundreds definitely has a special spot in my heart due to it being the first character after having that realization. The realization was that the palettes I was using weren’t always aligned with the objective.

The artwork originally came with the phrase, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. Why was that phrase chosen when illustrating this graphic?

Honestly, it was requested of me to include the quote by the creative team. I was really hyped on it either way because it’s something I definitely resonate with. I don’t want to say I suffer from it but I’ve dealt with insomnia most of my life. I’ve been airbrushing for 5 years and it’s the best medium I’ve ever picked up. It brings that balance I never had before when those restless moments come. Early into my freelancing career, I started taking on crazy last-minute jobs–90+ hand-painted units in 7 days for example– and I would get it done. I have to say yes to most jobs that land on my lap, it’s a rush, it’s painful, and my loved ones hate it but it’s the life I chose. “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”

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