GET TO KNOW THE ARTIST - ETTOJA

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 artist ETTOJA.

Tell us a bit about what keeps your creative juices flowing, do you search for inspiration or does it come naturally?

I have several primal inspiration sources, which can vary from time to time, but they follow me through the life: city environment (people, cars, city animals, architecture, life in the city, cultures or lack of culture ), nature ( abstract part of it like the decay or growth, reborn) and the last one is time. The time frightens me and inspires to move forward. To picture it through the static illustartions I'm trying to make them move, creating gifs/ short animations. When painting murals, I am experimenting with the technique which I call "giffiti". Sometimes I use it in editorial illustrations too. Visually it could look as a pattern, or repetitive character, thus creating a feeling of motion, as futurists like Giacomo Balla used to do.

What's been your favourite project to date and why?

My favourite project is always the next one :) But if I need to choose one, it'd be a series of animated trolleybuses from 2019. These were the real trolleybuses, which rode in the city. I've painted 6 of them, portraying some retro design products. This was the project where all my favourite elements met: surface design, muralism/streetart, my love for the industrial design objects, and giffiti. I've painted 12 frames on each of the trolleybuses. Anyone could photograph them and see a little animated story.

Tell us a bit about your process, do you start off searching for reference and sketching?

At the beginning I'm trying to visualize the idea. If I don't visualise it in a second after I've heard the task, most likely I'll get the image while I'm trying to fall asleep, or walking in the city. Then I'll get back to the paper/tablet, try to sketch it just to realise it's completely different from the one I've imagived:) And the rest of the process is basically trying to get the art to look as close as the initial idea.

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.

Art lets solve tasks independently and understand a little bit about society, world, myself.

For a tiny second it helps to feel the existence. 

Dive into yourself, remember what you liked to do when you were a kid, the themes you liked, adapt it and make it work for your now-self. A tip - to be consistent. 

Check out ETTOJA latest work here. For more portfolios from Chulo Creatives mural Artist stable click through here , also get in touch with Chulo Creative if you are interested in commissioning an artist for your next campaign.

Connection and Community

A recent mural for the Thornbury Telstra Exchange Building.
The concept has been supplied by local graphic designer Becca Walthall , and responds to the theme of ‘Connection and Community’ with a focus on telecommunications.
Painted by Camilo Delgado.

We knew the team would nail this brief perfectly for the good guys at Darebin City Council.

The Thornbury Telstra Exchange Mural was commissioned by Darebin City Council and is supported by the Victorian Government’s COVID Safe Outdoor Activation Fund.

Check out Camilo’s latest work here. For more portfolios from Chulo Creatives mural Artist stable click through here , also get in touch with Chulo Creative if you are interested in commissioning an artist for your next campaign.

Old lad painter by Mike Watt

Eshay! Mike's new mural is somewhat a testament to our lad culture.

Mike shared with us this old lad painter- he is really cool and the story behind how he came to be is really interesting! Have a read below and make sure you goto Mike's instagram handle to follow more work from him @mike__watt

"I made this guy up as I was painting him but he turned into something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Not trying to get too deep but people seem to hate change and want things to keep going like they have been. You see it in art quite a bit, people get annoyed when someone changes up their style or does anything commercial. It’s like you have to be painting the same thing in the same way until you’re an old man. It was fun painting him, I think I’ll do a series of old lad painters when I stop being a hermit. " Mike Watt

See more from  online folio here

Mike Watt

Mike Watt shared some words on creativity and public art...check it out!

What is it in your mural work that is truly you? - something about the the subject matter, process or thinking that speaks to your personality or story!

I think it's when I have complete freedom and am able to find work that best suits the space. The subject matter will normally be my characters but if it's the right space and I think a city scape or something different would work well, I feel like it will still be truly mine even though it might be something quite different than I would normally paint.

Something a lot of people don't know about Mike? My feet are pretty messed up, they're always covered with cuts and bruises. I'm really clumsy so I'm constantly kicking things on the ground and half falling over. I've got to remind myself to be extra careful when i'm painting up a ladder.

I'm not sure if my work has much of a message but my personal work normally revolves around characters, I try to get some story in there even if it's just in their faces.

I think public art makes people happy, it stops them looking at their phones for a minute and gets them looking at something in front of them which can also create interaction with other people around them. I don't understand why anyone would choose a blank wall over a mural, it created happier, brighter places.

Grizzzle bringing still-life to life with movemenT

to describe myself, would be where I start being site specific and working with the elements, subject that surrounds me in that moment. My colour palette is black/white and gold, and as a base I love working with those for boldness and reactions of light on gold, rare as it is I might introduce a colour palette if needed and communicates with the site. My process is bringing still-life to life with movement, to create a talking point and question, or even to sit back and enjoy the elements within the work.

I got kicked out of my kids art class when I was 7 or 8 because I was bored and couldn't comprehend why the other kids couldn't complete the tasks needless say I was well frustrated, I was placed in the adult life drawing class and fit in. A little nod to my work being site specific I guess.

I always keep to a body of work and stay with that until it's time to evolve, my canvas process and larger mural works are always connected as they're an extension of one another. As for the message, they adapt to the space though may be a hidden message in there for the viewer to find.

Public Art purely serves to evoke emotion, communication and thought. If placed in the right location it will reaffirm the message the artist or curator is wanting to convey.

My latest personal body of work is the production of still life's, bringing a stripped colour palette and my line work to a new level if being on their own or as a collage of elements to tell a story or draw attention to somewhat meaningless elements mixed with meaning elements to the foreground.

Commercially I'm working tightly with Bacardi, more specifically 42below to create a sustainable brand for 2020, everything we create from the bottle to the byproduct, t-shirts, cups and even painting bars to tell the story of what a cheeky yet thoughtful brand can do.