In living colour

From BlackWhite magazine - issue 11, in the can

Drez reshapes our human connection to urban spaces through visual effects that need to be seen to be believed.

On walls that Melburnians previously passed but never paused to appreciate, innovative works by Australian artist Drez are now grabbing attention. Through vivid Resene palettes and shapeshifting gradients, his work is a physical testament to the emotional power of colour. Armed with a distinct visual language that blends an exceptional understanding of colour theory, geometric precision and playful experimentation, Drez aims to create immersive spatial experiences that speak to their immediate environment, enabling viewers to take control of what they perceive.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Drez says he has always been creative but had trouble believing he could make a full-time career of being an artist. “My uncle is an architect, my mum did interior design and is now a ceramicist, and my dad was a landscaper. I think they all influenced me in a visual sense as they were each concerned with aesthetics. Doing creative work has always been at the forefront of my priorities. But for a long time, it seemed like an impossible task to actually make money as an artist. When I was starting out, I didn’t know anyone who made a living just by making paintings.”

Over the past 16 years, Drez has undergone an evolution from being primarily a graffiti artist to a successful muralist and a gallery artist. With that progression, he has taken on a minimalist approach to form and shape that’s defined by his brilliant use of colour. “I started pushing the boundaries of my visual imagery back when I started doing graffiti, and that’s where I started exploring colour and developing my method for combining different hues to create what’s become my signature gradient effect. Graffiti was important in terms of building a foundation for creating movement and discovering what happens when you put different colours next to one another. That’s when I started to create different visual effects that would build a feeling of energy. When I moved towards painting and geometric non-figurative work, I was getting to a point where I wanted to pull back from a broader lens to focus on colour, how it informs movement and depth and all the ways in which it can alter space. I would do the same with graffiti, but back then, it took on a much rawer form,” he recalls.

What Drez considers his flagship project – a mural he completed for ESR Australia & NZ in 2024, titled Chromatic Oscillation – is a colossal 216m x 14m symphony of colour. “It was a memorable project for me because it’s so large but also because of its location. It’s right on the side of a motorway and gets passed by more than 100,000 cars each day so it was designed to respond to that movement. There are different gradients layered on top of one another that change as you travel from right to left. It was such a great opportunity and a treat for me to be able to put my ideas out there like that. I used around 30 different Resene paint colours for it, which were then hand mixed to create about 300 different colours in total that allowed me to create that visual effect,” Drez says.

Though Drez has found his unique artistic voice through his instantly recognisable technique, he never stops experimenting. “I’m always playing with different colours, transitions and movements. There’s always one little thing here or there that gets tweaked as I’m starting to play around, and I might come back to it another time with another piece. I take a slower and more measured approach to my experiments now. I think I used to be all over the place with wild experimentations, but I’ve become more restrained.”

The aesthetic explorations he embarks on today are primarily tied to the environments where his murals will live. “I believe my best works are pieces that integrate with and pull colours from their immediate architectural surroundings. I think my works that act as a conversation with their built environment are successful – and perhaps more accessible for the viewer – because they become part of the urban fabric. I might choose to bring out a colour from a patch of rust nearby, and I really want to enhance how it fits in with the bigger picture and how people can interact with it. It becomes much more experiential compared to just an image on a wall,” he says.

Creating opportunities for members of the community to interact with his work has become one of Drez’s most important goals. “I am interested is creating work that can be engaged with regardless of whether you understand what the work is supposed to mean. I see it as creating visuals that are democratised and non-exclusive which are meant to create community in a slightly different way than other types of art or street art. With other artwork, you might be kept in the dark about what the story is, but these murals are for everyone to enjoy and experience and how they want to engage with that space.”

Compared to other types of physical art, such as architecture, sculptures and canvas paintings, murals are often more ephemeral and don’t hold the same longevity. But as more people have begun recognising the positive benefits and emotional impact that murals offer to their communities, there has been a push from local councils and building owners to invest in commissioning more of this type of art.

“I think the increase in value that’s now being placed on murals and street art is a reflection of the times. Being so contemporary and fleeting, street art is always very relevant to the here and now. Instead of being focused on the historical value of the person who made or designed something, murals are more about the value and importance they provide in reflecting the local communities and placemaking. If someone passes a mural on their way to work every day, they develop a personal connection to it, and there’s a different kind of value in that.” Drez explains.

Drez generally starts planning his artistic palettes by first looking to his Resene colour charts. “When I come up with new combinations, I am always looking to achieve a balance between specific colours that define what I’m doing and other colours that I can add in to create what I like. There are a number of Resene colours that I’ve come to know very well which are all nice, bright, clean colours,” he says.

Since the placement of each mural plays into his specific colour selections, the mural’s location helps dictate whether he keeps his palette saturated or opts for a more muted look. “Depending on the environment or surface, I might use fewer colour or more colours – and I may have to mix my colours differently to better suit those environments and get the right level of contrast,” he says.

“I love Resene for the depth of colour, vibrancy, glossiness, coverage and longevity their paints offer. The pigment load of the colour is so crucial in my work and being able to get rich colours at full opacity in just two coats is a huge advantage. If you’re just painting a wall in one solid hue, it isn’t as a big deal to have to do another coat. But if you’re working on a mural that has fifteen or more colours and having to do a third, fourth or fifth coat, it’s a pain to have to wait for each one to dry before moving on,” Drez explains.

“I think the quality of Resene colours is key, too. The fact that there are so many different bases means that you can get those clean, pure colours – and that kind of purity in colour is crucial in getting the kind of richness and depth I’m after on the wall. Having a good relationship with my Resene ColorShop and Resene Representative and being able to call them up whenever I have any questions is awesome. Their team is just so great to work with and that plays a big part in why I use exclusively Resene for my work,” he adds.

Among his current favourite colours are Resene Adrenalin and Resene Wellywood. “Being able to get a fluoro-looking green that is colourfast which I can mix into blues and greens to brighten them without adding muddiness is just awesome. Resene Riptide is a great aqua blue that I use a lot as well. Resene Havelock Blue and Resene Governor Bay are two other really rich colours that I have been using frequently.”

As his career continues to gain momentum, Drez encourages those who are interested in starting or growing their own artistic practices to take action and be persistent. “I honestly think just putting yourself out there and getting into it is the best thing to do. I think if you can try to create a work ethic where you’re consistently making stuff and sharing it, you’re going to make it. Don’t just wait for opportunities to come to you. Get out there and do it and good things will follow.”

› To see more of Drez’s dazzling work, check out his website, Instagram feed, and YouTube channel.

Colours mentioned in this article

BlackWhite magazine

This is a magazine created for the industry, by the industry and with the industry – and a publication like this is only possible because of New Zealand and Australia's remarkably talented and loyal Resene specifiers and users.

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