CONVERSATIONS IN TEXT : ARTHUR

We’ve decided to start a small series of interviews with artists to better understand their process and to give an insight into what influences the work they create. We hope they can be a source of inspiration to everyone within the Sixteen community and if you’re interested in taking part, let us know!

This time, Ellie sits down with Arthur to have a conversation about his experience as a graphic designer and printmaker. Read below our cherry-picked best bits from the Q&A.

EC : You have two sides to your practice, a digital and a physical. Do you want to start by talking about the processes in both? What have you been doing? 

AOS : I think both my digital and my physical work follow a similar sort of process in the way that I create an image. A big part of my process is about layers and textures and I think it's easier to break down both sides of the practice and how they relate to each other… For me, because digital is faster, I use digital as a way of sketching and creating the images I want to pursue and develop into physical pieces. If I want something that feels tangible and textured, I like making it physically, but to create the images and mock them up and sketch them, I think digital works so much quicker for me personally.

EC : So your process can go physical, digital, physical?

AOS : I find it hard to just have nothing to work off on a digital page as well as a physical one. So maybe I'll start by looking at old photographs or images I've found online, cutting them up and making a sort of a collage of a layout first, and then working over the top of that. Or sometimes I'll get a palette together, that can be quite a useful thing.

EC : Do you work in series or one-off pieces? 

AOS : Coming from a client-based background, I often try to focus on a brief for a set of images. They're usually trying to solve a problem or be associated with a theme or a final product that I have in mind. I create digital work that I sell as digital products online, so each of the pieces has to fit a role within that framework. Often they end up being single images because they're about completing a task or satisfying a need.

EC : Do you have themes or ideas that run through all of your work, or do you tend to complete a thought with a project? 

AOS : I think some themes run throughout my work, and that mostly they have to do with the processes. So for example, multi-layering. Putting down big, bold flat colours with screenprint and then perhaps adding textural layers with hand-drawn or mono-printing elements, or misalignment within the layers. Those additional layers of texture are something that runs through all my work. Mostly, the imagery that I create is just things that appeal to me, perhaps nostalgic things from my childhood or gaming elements, and there's definitely a retro aesthetic. But I think mainly the processes that link my pieces are the use of colour, texture and layering. 

EC : This is perhaps subjective, but can you tell when your work is good? Or when a piece has worked?

AOS : I think that it comes back to whether or not it hits that original brief. Because for me, I'm looking at it as: If I was the client of my own work, and I'd set myself a task which is creating an image for a game that's being produced, does this image evoke the feelings that you want the game to evoke? And if it does, is it aesthetically pleasing, and does it resonate with me as the artist? If it does, then it is a successful piece. It might not be loved by everybody, but I think whether it is a successful artwork and whether it has an audience are two very different things. Usually, only the artist can determine whether it's a successful piece. You can get feedback, and you can listen to others and sometimes that's really important, but ultimately, you need to create work that resonates with you on a strong enough level. For me, if I've given myself a brief, using that as a benchmark to see whether an image is successful is an important tool.

EC : I feel like the way you use colour and the way you think about it, is really important to the success of your pieces. Often, when I connect to an artwork, the artist has been thoughtful about colour very early on, maybe from the start, and they use it to respond to an emotion or idea and convey that more successfully. 

AOS : I think that the work, for me, that’s the most successful, is something that's trying to evoke a feeling or a connection, and colour can play a big part in that. Some of the work I do is black and white because it just needs to be, but I might not necessarily use jet black. I might use a dark grey because that in itself is going to have a different final aesthetic. 

EC : So, what's the point? For you, what's the point in your work? 

AOS : I think it's to pursue the process of being creative. It doesn't really matter what it is, what it ends up looking like or who looks at it. It's kind of irrelevant because it is disposable. It's so that I can look back and think: have I enjoyed being creative? Have I pursued a creative life? Have I surrounded myself with beautiful things and interesting things and have I enjoyed getting from that to that? Sometimes, I have grumbled the entire way through making something, but I'll look back and think: I did that myself. Whether it's doing up my house, building a workshop, painting a self-portrait, filling a sketchbook with tiny little drawings or creating a character that's going to be part of a book, it's all about living within creativity. I have so many ideas and things I want to do that are part of that.

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If you've got any questions for Arthur about his practice, you'd like to read more from this interview or if you’re interested in taking part yourself, let us know below!