Shorty'Man

SHORTY'MAN The Cat Who Was Born on a Wall Before Shorty'Man had a name, he already existed on a wall. It happened at night, in front of an empty wall, with the smell of fresh paint in the air. First came a cat mask. Then a pink spray can. Then the first line. And Shorty'Man kept coming back. What began on the street gradually became something more personal: an identity. The decisive moment came when people started recognising the mask before they even knew the artist's name. The character had begun to live a life of its own. A character finds its world Shorty'Man's universe grew out of street culture: street art, skateboarding, toys, cats wandering through the streets and cities that never seem to sleep. His influences come from the pioneers of graffiti, but also from artists capable of building an entire universe around a character. Over time, the cat became the centre of his own. Pink, love and cats appear throughout Shorty'Man's work, but behind their apparent playfulness lies something broader. His characters are not simply decorative figures. They express a way of looking at the world. For Shorty'Man, art became a space for freedom, a place where imagination could exist without having to justify itself. His intention is deliberately simple: to bring colour into an everyday life that can sometimes feel grey, to share something positive and, above all, to make people smile. More than a cat There is a playful quality to Shorty'Man's work, but also a strong attachment to freedom. Authenticity, respect and passion are central to his approach, as is the freedom to create without losing the spontaneity that shaped his work from the beginning. At some point, the wall itself became more than a surface. It became a canvas. And the character no longer had to belong to a single place. Shorty'Man could travel from wall to wall and from city to city, carrying the same identity while entering different environments and different stories. Each new encounter could extend his universe a little further. The cat had become a character capable of travelling beyond the place where it was born. Painting by instinct Shorty'Man starts with an idea and a sketch. Then come the attempts, the adjustments and eventually instinct. Spray paint, Posca markers and brushes are among the tools that allow him to move between street art and other surfaces. He works quickly, while paying particular attention to the elements that give his characters their personality: the eyes, expressions, details, contrasts and colours. The gaze matters. Because it is never simply about painting a cat. It is about creating a character. One that carries an emotion, but leaves enough room for whoever encounters it to imagine something of their own. That balance between an immediately recognisable visual identity and the freedom of imagination lies at the heart of Shorty'Man's work. From the wall to Deerbie When Shorty'Man first discovered the silhouette of Deerbie, his reaction was immediate. He saw a new playground. That idea would shape his approach to the Artist Edition. Rather than simply decorating the object, Shorty'Man wanted to give it an identity while respecting the original Deerbie silhouette. The challenge was to allow his own universe to inhabit a completely different character without losing what he considers the soul of Shorty'Man. Certain elements therefore had to remain. The mask. The cat. The pink. His visual language would meet Deerbie's form, with each element positioned to guide the eye and encourage discovery. For Shorty'Man, the finished piece becomes something more than another surface for his character. He describes his Deerbie as a guardian of imagination. And behind that idea lies perhaps the clearest expression of what Shorty'Man wants his work to achieve. Not to tell the viewer exactly what to see. But to leave enough space for curiosity to take over. Keep going Shorty'Man wants his character to continue travelling. From city to city. From wall to wall. He wants to create more, with fewer limits, while protecting the authenticity and freedom that have shaped his universe from the beginning. Among his ambitions is the idea of creating a large public mural capable of becoming part of a city's identity. But whatever the scale, the essential idea remains remarkably simple. A cat appeared on a wall. People began to recognise it. And little by little, that character became a world of its own. A world built around colour, freedom and imagination. With his Deerbie Artist Edition, Shorty'Man invites that world into a new form. And what he hopes will happen when someone encounters it may be the best way to understand his work: to forget their age for a few seconds and leave wanting to look at the world with a little more curiosity. Shorty'Man × Deerbie Artist Edition Continue exploring Shorty'Man’s universe, discover the details of his Deerbie Artist Edition and meet the other artists shaping the Deerbie collection on deerbie.be.