Mario Daniel

Mario Daniel goes by the handle “doit doit” and has a funny whimsical style. Humor is always preset in Mario’s work, but sometimes there is a more meaningful message hidden in plain sight. The Atlanta Street Art Map’s interview with Mario in November 2018 will shed some light on the person behind the artwork:

What is your origin story? Atl native. Very early on I thought the arts were my path, went to a magnet school for smart and artsy kids, did a little graffiti as a teen, school newspaper cartoonist etc..,but I went into the Army. Family tradition, had a few adventures, came home did the classic adulting stuff.

What led you to become an artist? Retired military, worked at the post office and owned a few rental properties. It was all so boring, needed a artistic outlet so tried free art Friday and never stopped.

What message do you hope to convey through your artwork? A laugh, maybe even a little political/social satire. Mostly a laugh. I draw donuts farting, it ain’t that serious.

What led you to doing murals and what do you like about murals? The challenge of going big. The logistics of doing murals is as fun as creating the Art itself. It’s a humbling endeavor at times.

What other art media do you work in? Good old pencil and paper works just fine for me, but of late I’ve ventured into watercolor and digital is a necessity for professional work.

Tell me about the Lotus Eaters Club. How did you get involved? Like Voltron we desperate artists came together to save the ATL from tedious, upper crust, MoMA types. Art should be accessible to everyone. I call us the Wu-tang clan of Atlanta artists.

How did your iconic green guy in the Charlie Brown shirt come about? Cthulu Brown is a extension of me. The friendly monster. He’s my commentary on how folk see black people, black men in particular. I’ll leave the high-minded intellectual interpretations up to you. So he will always be a part of my work in some capacity.

Tell me about your education, accomplishments, awards, etc? I’ve lived a lot of life in a very short amount of time. Cliff notes version: Fought in a war, saw some real shit, climbed a mountain, travelled, broke my body, Army decorated, rebuilt my body, got an education, made my momma happy college degree is on her wall, started a business, failed in that business, kept at it, now I get paid to make the ‘Scrib Scrabs’ (Art) I’m a doer. Nuff’ said.

Link to Mario Daniel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doitdoitleague/

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