Born in London, England; Lawrence Hosannah moved to the seaside town of Hastings,when he was a young child. Part of a highly artistic family, art was in his DNA. Hastings famed for its Old Town, pirate caverns, castle on the hill and battle of 1066 proved a boon to the young artist’s adventurous spirit. Taking to exploring different aspects of the town, bringing his sketchbook in tow, Myse would draw local scenery embellished with fanciful dragons, knights and fighter jets.
In the early 80’s he and family emigrated to New York City; barely in his teens this was a total culture shock for the young artist. Dropped into NYC the epicenter of Hip Hop culture, the right place at the right time, he was immediately drawn to the four disciplines of the Hip Hop movement (MCing, DJing, Break dancing and the mural art form known as writing). Dabbling in the four forms of expression, Lawrence put his effort into Writing when he was impressed by the murals that graced the streets of New York City.
As is customary in the world of Writing he took on the nom de plume “MYSE”. Merging his artistic ability with his adventurous spirit, he travelled the various train lines throughout the five boroughs, studying the vast range of letter forms, color techniques, characters and sceneries depicted in the neighborhoods of NYC. Just like he had done as a young boy, he took his blackbook (sketchbook) in tow, practicing his skills along the way.
On these travels Lawrence began meeting other artists (such as Trace, Same 1 and Nak) who shared his passion for the art form, some of whom he would meet with weekly to hone skills and share knowledge. These pow wows rapidly expanded his skill level from simple character and letter forms to complex full wall murals. Taking acquired skills to various rooftops, handball courts and public spaces throughout the borough of Queens, New York, Lawrence built a name for himself as one of the most dominant artists of the region. (Despite later taking classes at The Pratt Institute, FIT and The Arts Students League of New York, he attributes the bulk of his artistic growth to that gained by working with neighborhood artists.
Known for his diversity of artistic style, some of the disciplines that Lawrence has explored are illustration, cartooning, realism, abstract, graphic design and interior design. His current work brings him back to the arena of mural design, teaming up with his brother Aaron to create the mural company Hosannah Bros. which is produces murals that transform urban environments into natural ecosystems.