Mike Parsons: In black and white.

Lately, I haven't been interested or been drawn to any new artists that I've heard of. But there's has been one I have been keeping my eye on.

His pieces use the basics of black and white, but there's absolutely nothing basic about his pieces. A vivid glance into a geniuses mind.

Mike Parsons not only gives you the passport and the boarding pass but he also sits you in a first class seat to the trip.

This artist proves excitement with every stoke. His work forces your lazy imagination to go not only go for a walk but jog and maybe run wild.

I've researched many artists and I've expressed my liking for their work but haven't received the best responses back so imagine my surprise when I compliment one of my favorite artists work and he responds. So, what am I to do? A bit nervous but still confident I engage him in brief conversation.

I express my liking for his work and asked if I can shoot him some questions and with the quickness, he allows me to do so.

He tells me that he began as a street performer, and lets me know how much he loves Toronto, his city. How much the diversity inspires him, how it has the advantages of a big city but you can escape whenever you want. I agreed.

I went on, I wanted to ask him more questions but I didn't want to ask him cliche questions that most people would be caught up asking.

I ask him who inspires him, he mentions William Burroughs, Alan Moore, Suehiro Maruo, Jodorowsky & David Cronenberg. His answers are artsy but well thought out.

Speaking to Mike is refreshing. He's an artist. Not like one of these people who put themselves in the category. He's a real person whose art comes out of his heart.

I moved on to ask him about what he likes in terms of shoes and brand names, but spoken like a true artist whose focus can't be broken, he informs me he's not interested in brands and how most of his boots are purchased from the army surplus store (which was pretty impressive to me). He continues to explain that he's into wearing black clothes.

When I say this, I honestly thought he would go into some artsy fartsy answer but he didn't. He said his choice to wear black is simply because when he spills ink on his clothes, no one notices. Simple.

I asked about his music selection and he told me he likes jazz, audio books and Daft Punk (who wouldn't). I was impressed but my mind wasn't blown until I asked him what sets him apart from other artists and these were his words. He doesn't do preliminary sketches, he never makes any corrections and he does a lot of his work in public. After this statement I was in a scramble looking for words.

I listen to a lot of people talk about public figures that they admire and aren't able to take anything out of their lives to put into their own. I don't make those mistakes.

Mike Parsons has taught me there is no preliminary sketch for life and you will make mistake but though those mistakes you can still end up with a masterpiece. Thanks Mike.