I was born in a small town in Sussex, England, a town that quickly became too small for our family’s needs. The seven of us—my four sisters, my parents, and I —moved to Canada to discover a strange new world of colorful contrasts.

Our settling in the small town of Streetsville, which is nestled in the much larger, bustling city of Mississauga, allowed me to experience the best and worst of both types of lifestyles—small town and big city. A familiarity with shopkeepers, neighbors, paperboys, and strays enabled me to develop an intimate and personal relationship with my hometown and the people who shared it, while still appreciating the changes, developments, and progress that come with the greater city life.

Since his mother first handed him a pencil as a toddler, Toronto-based illustrator Jasin Dollin has been drawing anything and everything. He compares the first stage of his drawings to childlike scribbles—and then, almost magically, facial features begin to form, eventually becoming a fully animated face staring right back at him.

In always wanting to create a novel product, Dollin utilized his talent to create the inspired Lil’G Mini Boombox. This mp3 speaker system blends an 80s hip-hop vibe with the millennium’s urban, vinyl-toy look.

Mateo Magazine: Why did you choose to create the Mini Boombox in 3D?
Jasin Dollin: I’ve always loved boomboxes, and so I thought it would really be cool to create one. It kind of started as a Halloween costume; I made myself look like a cartoon b-boy.

In drawing inspiration from icons of our time, Bowman's work provides personality to contemporary pop culture. He boldly explores the humour in today's society and the oversaturation of idolization, the media, and consumerism. Bowman uses old mirrors and window frames as his canvases, as well as old doors and a variety of surfaces that result in the recycled, retro feel of his work. His current series of works, New School Lounge Pop, is the manifestation of Bowman's playful perception of reality.

His experience began with a formal education in the fine arts at Sheridan College and has continued to grow, establishing himself as an ascending Toronto artist with participation in such events as Virgin Thread Market, Fashion Cares and Nuit Blanche.

The best word I can use to describe my childhood is unconventional. I was raised by a single mom and never knew my father. My mom liked having pets in the house. We had three cats and one dog. She loved our pets so much she didn't mind that I was severely allergic to animals. I would cough and wheeze around the house, and was hospitalized several times due to having difficulty breathing. When I told my mom that I was allergic, she always said, “Oh Justin, you’re such a hypochondriac, it’s all in your head.” If it wasn’t the pets affecting my health, it was mom’s boyfriends. Due to the fact that she slept on the couch in the living room, there was little I could do to avoid them. Between the animals and the boyfriends, my home was a hazard to my health, so I turned to the streets. It was on the streets, where I met the individuals who inspired my artwork: The Artist, the Breakdancer, the DJ, the Street Baller, the Jazz Musician, and the Gambler. The turmoil in my childhood home that seemed unbearable at the time, was the best thing that ever happened to me. It opened up new doors in my life that led me down a path of creativity. As a result, I am who I am today, an urban Artist.

Becoming an Artist is never really easy. I've read over a hundred biographies of some of my favorite artists, and all of them seem to have had one thing in common—roadblocks. Whether it was player haters, as in Van Gogh's life; or life circumstances that occurred in Rockwell or Rembrandt’s life; or the physical...

How do you understand art? Even as an artist I have found myself, so often standing in front of a painting, scratching my head with a confused look on my face. Art is extremely subjective and just because you may dislike it, it doesn’t mean you have not connected to it. Actually, it makes it more intriguing to know why and what it is about the piece that repels you.

Have you ever seen a painting, so simple that it looks like a 4 year old could have made it? And wonder how and why it is hanging in a well-established art gallery with a large price tag attached? For you to be more objective towards the piece, I believe you should take a few minutes to actually analyze it a little more, by asking a few simple questions:

What do I like/dislike about the colours?
What do I like/dislike about the subject?
What do I like/dislike about the size?
What do I like/dislike about the composition? (The position and flow of objects)
What do I like/dislike about the meaning?

Once you have asked these questions, you have given the piece and the artist who