Our Story

We say, “Our Story,” because OLIE is more than one person. It includes a family of creators who want to make things new and better, whether it’s painting a picture or making people laugh or saving animals. It’s all about creating something new. OLIE is about being weird and unique and doing things your own way.

Lorne Oliver / AP Spray Arts

He would be floundering if it wasn’t for the support of his wife, children, grandson and family. He is not one of those lonely artists working by himself and struggling with inner turmoil. Do those still exist?

Born and raised in North-Western Ontario, he moved to one end of the country and then the other before finally settling in Saskatchewan. When he was 10 he started writing in school and felt that was what he wanted to do. He wanted to create worlds. He doodled then, sketching things from time to time and always wanting to be better, but never took drawing seriously. Many years and 7 novels later, all in the thriller and mystery genres, he felt like a change was needed.

In January of 2022 he tried out this Tik Tok thing and saw spray paint art and what textures could be made with a crumpled piece of paper or a plastic bag. (He actually saw it years before at a trade show and bought a painting off of someone which became the cover of his novel, The Pass) His wife bought him his first spray cans to try it out, loved what he made and encouraged him to keep at it and go to trade shows. From there, the obsession with spray paint art took over. He created the identity of AP Spray Arts.

He was inspired by artists and YouTubers like Casey Van Arsdale, Tom Welly Wells, Kiptoe and eventually Ten Hundred, Doke, Smoe Nova, Sketch and many other spray paint artists, graffiti writers, mural painters and artists of all sorts. This brought on the desire to learn more, get better and make this his life.