Here at Chulo we wanted to showcase the creatives with a Q&A to dive a little deeper into the Artists inner workings - today we spotlight newest member Veins.
Tell us a bit about what keeps your creative juices flowing, do you search for inspiration or does it come naturally?
For me, getting outdoors, and exploring natural surroundings inspires a good chunk of my creative process . I find myself taking a lot of photos of colours of in nature, then collating those colour references for Painting. When I force, inspiration or directly seek it out, I find that I never get what I’m quite looking for. Generally, I find myself getting inspired when I least expect it. I could be walking down to the shops, look up at the sky and notice a perfect gradient, which will trigger a hole downpour of ideas. Music is a massive source of energy that fuels my daydreams of other worldly landscapes, so I always try and listen to music when creating art.
What's been your favourite project to date and why?
My favourite job of all time would have to be the wall I painted in Bundoora square. I spent many days wandering the King lake valley and investigating Plenty Gorge’s rock and plant life. I focused my concept within golden hours of the day which help saturate the landscape and bring out warms tones in every form. The final artwork really expressed the whole experience and is a reminder of the wonderful landscape.
Tell us a bit about your process, do you start off searching for reference and sketching?
My process starts with taking photos of things I’ve seen with my phone. I go on day trips to national parks, forests and beaches to soak in the atmosphere. I have files where I collate my photos as reference. From each file I scan through and pick out things that I like, It could either be certain colour choices that I use as a theme or specific forms which I reinterpret. I can sometimes use a sky from one photo as reference, then put down the Land from another photo, collaging from countless reference shots. Once I have an idea I begin to sketch a design whilst colour testing to see what works best for the lighting. Once the sketch has been finished, I’ll begin to paint the artwork.
What made you want to pursue a career in the arts and do you have any tips for up and coming artists looking to do the same.
The reason I pursued art as a career was the deep sense of fulfilment that I got from Painting. The ability to express how I feel and what I appreciate is an endless source of joy. Creating gives me a constant loop of appreciation, struggle and respect for life. It also creates a language spoken between those who appreciate and create things as well. If I could give any tips to aspiring creatives it would be that if you want something bad enough, you have to expect to hurt for it. Once you find something you enjoy in life you have to fight for it. The other thing I found important beginning my art career was to stay malleable and to expect the unexpected, you never know where you’ll end up but never let an opportunity go to waste. Most importantly if you can find a way to feel inspired, then being a creative full time does not feel like work and only good things will come your way.
Check out VEINS latest work here. For more portfolios from Chulo Creatives Artist stable click through here. Get in touch with Chulo Creative if you are interested in commissioning a mural artist.