Final Presentation

Digital Portfolio

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/wilfdessent_art/

So far Instagram has been easily one of my best and most successful marketing and networking tools. With its growing in popularity it has a massive audience and is great way to advertise yourself and show off your skills, and even to sell your artwork if used properly. I post neerly all of my finished paintings and designs on instagram, and try to post as many process pics as I can also. I need to become more confident with posting sketchbook work as I think it would help communicate my practice in more detail. I have had a number of different job / commission opportunities via instagram - I think lots of business small and large use insta as a way of exploring ideas for branding etc. So its important to keep the content flowing - consistent uploads of good pics is the key to a successful account. The more pics you post the bigger your audience will get. I found selling merchandise through insta was also a success, people where eager to buy my clothing and prints from me via instagram using paypal. Another way that instagram can be a really useful tool for promotion is when you get reposted by other accounts. There are a large number of art accounts there that re post loads of different artworks by a lots of different artist. If you can find accounts relevant to your own work, they sometimes will repost your artwork and credit you. This can be a really good way of helping people discover your work.

Website

https://www.wilfdessent.com/

I created my own website on square space. I started by uploading as much content as I could, I just needed another online platform to display all my best work and make my artwork more accessible to people looking for it online. I wanted my own URL so that it would be easy to find and you could just search for my name to find the website. I added an 'about' page to the site that gives a brief description of myself and my practice. I think its important to give some info about myself as well as just photographs of work - it can help people get a better idea of my skills. I also added a contact me page to the site. If somebody wants to contact me about a commission or any kind of enquiry with my artwork they can send me a direct message through my website. They can submit a message on the page that will go straight to my email. I have already had a few enquiries through my website so this was definitely an important aspect of the site. I also added a link to my instagram because im more up to date with instagram than with my website. But recently I have been trying to update my site as much as possible.

There is still definitely a few things I need to improve on the website. I want organise the pictures better and structure all of my projects properly and give specific information about different briefs. This could help people looking at my work get a more in depth idea about what I can produce. I also want to put a shop section on the site - where people can purchase things directly from there like prints, T shirts, hoodies, and maybe even original paintings. I also eventually want to draw my own typeface for all of the headings of the site. I think the website could have an over all more vibrant and illustrated aesthetic - and I think more illustration within the digital design of the site could make it much better.

Buisness Cards

Front 1

Front 2

Back

Here are some business card design ideas - I like the idea of having a different choice of face on the different cards. I think it works too show my skills and emphasise my ability to create different faces. I'm almost tempted to draw my own quick outlines of faces onto each business card - so its like each card has a little original one-off illustration. Stickers is another option for making promotional cards to hand out. The nice thing about a sticker is I think more people are inclined to keep hold of them, if I put contact on stickers it could be a really good way of delivering my contact info to people. The places where I have really felt the needs for having a business cards in my experiences so far has been mainly at exhibitions, and doing other live art projects where I have been speaking to potential clients, spectators and people who generally interested in what I do - I feel like having a business cards / stickers would be a nice physical product for them to go home with, it could give more of an impact - than just showing my insta or giving them my number / email.

'Youbeyou' Exhibition at Royal Park Pub

My friend did a daytime event / exhibition at the Royal Park pub in Hyde park. There was loads of arts workshops, live art and music happening, it was generally good a thing to get involved with and I hope the event will keep on running. Its good exposure for all kinds of local talent that is trying to expand.

This is my wall at the exhibition and the set of paintings I chose too display. I also wanted to do a live painting on the day of the event, but I didn't manage to get a board to work on in time for the event. Hopefully I will get another opportunity to do live art here if the event continues. Combining music and art is something I really want to push within my practice - with summer here now I feel like my work could thrive in festival season. And getting more and more  commissions for event flyers it makes sense to contribute too the events as well wherever possible.

Interview - Nacho Eterno

I have been a an of nachos work for a couple of years now and have seen ideas develop. I really enjoy his work and have got one of his tattoo design myself. I thought he could be an interesting person to get an interview with if he wasn't too busy. I have already spoke to him briefly about his practice and interests in art when I met him but this would be a more formal opportunity. 

Interview:

• What is your favourite type of commissioned work? Eg murals, prints, digital, paintings, tattoos etc...

I like mural work best because it gives me the most freedom.

• What has been your overall favourite / most rewarding project or singular piece of work you have ever done?

The illustration I did for the New York Times.

• What has been your most random project to work on? Maybe something you didn't ever expect to be working on?

The socks I did with a brand from Barcelona, I never expected to be designing socks

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His answer and short and brief but still informative. It enjoyed getting answers back from him because I have a lot of respect for his work - i'm always interested to hear what he has to say. I tried to find the work he did for the New York Times but I couldn't find it, i'm really intrigued to find this out - I guess it could be his most rewarding piece because of the fact it was published in the New York Times and the amount of exposure it would get him. There is a slight language barrier between us, his english isn't amazing and my Spanish is none existent. So I think this could explain the short answers, and the fact he didn't complete all the questions. He warned me that he may not be able to to fully understand the questions but would give it his best shot. Looking back and reviewing the interview now I wish I could have got more information out of him somehow. Maybe I should have re-designed the questions slightly and made them more appropriate, knowing he would struggle to understand them. I could have maybe done a greater number of shorter questions to get more answers from him.

Interview - Peteobsolete

A friend recommended Peteobsolete to me and I found him on instagram. I really like his drawings and character creations, I also like how he applies them in almost pattern like way. He would definitely be an interesting artist to interview for my project. I gave him a message and he was happy to answer some questions for me, we also spoke about some collaborations which I will definitely follow up and get thinking of some ideas because that could be good exposure and a fun project to work on.   

Interview...

• What is your favourite type of commissioned work? Eg murals, prints, digital, paintings, tattoos etc...

There is no 'favourite'! Its vital for me to be able to adapt as an artist. Every request I receive excites me, I think its important to be kept on your toes!

Personally, knowing that someone has an Obsolete pattern or piece in their home is just humbling, let alone a tattoo...

• What has been your overall favourite / most rewarding project or singular piece of work you have ever done?

Easy.. the KING KEITH piece I painted for the BIG HEART charity event. It is a portrait of 80's illustrator and demigod of illustration, Keith Haring, for Candlelighters (childrens cancer charity in Yorkshire). Realising I'm ok at painting with brushes, then working into the piece with Posca pens and scratching some lyrics into it reminded me of how I used to draw. 

• When did creating work on a large scale and using spray paint become such a significant part of your practice?

I use spray paint like I use a paintbrush, so its the effects and details in the paint I use that I love. I'm not a graffiti artist, but need to have a week just spraying, its a whole other science altogether! Size is vital in art. It was my Foundation Art course that helped me realise I need to practice big, but I still love working small.. Working on Stage and Radio was the biggest walls I've painted, and felt really comfortable with the size, but give me me a fineliner any day of the week!

• How long have you been working as an illustrator / artists?

Obsolete was born in Manchester in 2009, I'd been doing bits here and there for a while, but it was from there that anything that left my hand was Obsolete. It all seemed to come from somewhere.. I believe in knowing your history, and looking back at early work from school and college and still find whispers of the handstyle or pattern work cropping up...

• What advise would you give to a new artist trying to survive in the creative industry?

Advice for survival - you're already there mate! You wouldn't be asking me these questions if you hadn't survived! From experience: 

>Work with as many likeminded and good people as possible - collaborations will help push you to keep experimenting with your style.

>Take the opportunities you find, and make the most out of them - some will work, some wont, but everything is experience points. The ones that don't work are x2!

>You can literally do anything with a positive attitude. Love what you do and it comes back to you. It might not be straight away, but it comes.

>Be willing to adapt your style, but not your integrity - Do your research, know your market, then play with it! See what works and evolve, simple.

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I'm really pleased with answers he gave, they where honest and gave a good insight to his positive outlook on his practice. It demonstrates the sort of attitude you need to have to stay motivated and interested in your work. He really enjoyed working on a Kieth Haring project and its clear that he is a big fan Kieths work, is good to see the impact that peoples idols and influences have on their own creations. I thought it was interesting his point about spray painting and how 'size is vital in art', although he is not necessarily a graffiti / street artist - he still values the importance of working on a big scale. I like the name Peteobsolete, I like how the name just came to him, it suites his work well and fits his visual identity. I think the fact about knowing your market is really useful to take on board. The better you know your market and whats available, the better you can apply your skills and creative ideas.

Basquiat Exhibition - The Barbican London

Banksy...

• This is the Banksy tribute to Basquiat that was on the wall outside the venue with protective glass over it. It is a famous Banksy piece and involves one of basquaites famous character designs getting searched and interrogated by police - maybe trying to communicate some of Basquiat's strong views and opinions on society.

Photos from the exhibition...

• The above piece was one of my favourites in the exhibition. It involves a range of his different approaches to image making like intense bold colour and mask like faces as well as smaller intricate linear line work and writing. I think it does well to demonstrate his practice as a whole.
• I have been such a massive fan of basquiats work for so long now, seeing his work in person was such an amazing and almost emotional experience for me. I was really familiar with lots of his paintings so seeing them in person was really interesting for me - seeing little details I didnt know existed and observing them at their full scale.
• I found it very beneficial seeing all of his less major work and sketchbook pages - It really helped me see the nature of work, and realise even more how graffiti and street art and their rebellious / ruleless nature had such an impact on his creative work.
• There where also some rare interview videos of basquiat speaking about his life and work that helped give an even better understanding of the intentions and personality behind his creations.

Products...

• I really liked these products that had been re-designed from his paintings and drawings specifically for the exhibition. I thought it was interesting to see his work being applied to products.

Interview - Marcus Method

I contacted Marcus Method via instagram and asked him if he would mind answering a few questions for me...

• What is your favourite type of commissioned work? Eg murals, prints, digital, paintings, tattoos etc...

I'd say my favourite type of commissioned work would be murals. I really enjoy working on a large scale and murals give me the chance to do this.

• What has been your overall favourite / most rewarding project or singular piece of work you have ever done?

I'd say my favourite project would be a solo exhibition I did called 'when I grow up'. The show included paintings, prints, sculpture, video installation and a fashion presentation.

• What has been your most random project to work on? Maybe something you didn't ever expect to be working on?

My most random project was working on a short tour around G-Star's UK stores drawing on the leather patches for jeans which customers then had sewn onto their new purchases. 

• When did creating work on a large scale and using spray paint become such a significant part of your practice?

I started painting graffiti around 2005 so the progress to large scale walls was a gradual process, with lettering pieces getting bigger as time progressed. As I fully moved away from letter based work my paintings did get quite considerably larger and hopefully as time passes this will continue to happen.

• How long have you been working as an illustrator / artists?

I was working as an artist part time for the last few years but since January this year (2018) I have been working full time, it felt like the right time to take the risk and go for it and i'm glad I did.

• What advise would you give to a new artist trying to survive in the creative industry?

For any new artists working in my type of field id say that developing your style is the most important thing you can do, develop something that people can instantly recognise and you enjoy doing. If people can recognise your work it will benefit you in numerous ways

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He gave some really good feedback in the interview, I thought the point about how the scale that he worked got bigger and bigger the less he used letters and just let patterns and illustrations take over his style was really interesting, and I can relate to that slightly within my own work when I started to spray paint my character design instead of letters - I just need to keep increasing my scale! Another thing I find inspiring about this is in his exhibition how he applies his visual identity to prints, paintings, sculpture, installations and fashion designs all together, it makes his content so diverse and sellable with a high impact. He seems to be constantly working on different projects (mainly massive murals) and now he is working as a full time artist - gives me hope for a new artist exploring a similar field of work. Its also really beneficial to hear him talk about developing a recognisable visual identity - this is something that I try to achieve within my own practice.

Contacting Artists

I wanted to contact artist that where working within a similar specific industry too what I was aiming towards within my own practice. I was going to contact artists who worked with large scale murals, spray paint, involved character design, and had a consistent way of applying their skills. I wanted to ask questions that would un pick some key information about how the types of projects they work on and how they feel about their practice as a whole.

My Interview Questions:

• What is your favourite type of commissioned work? Eg murals, prints, digital, paintings, tattoos etc... (change eg's appropriate to each artist)
• What has been your overall favourite / most rewarding project or singular piece of work you have ever done?
• What has been your most random project to work on? Maybe something you didn't ever expect to be working on?
• When did creating work on a large scale and using spray paint become such a significant part of your practice?
• How long have you been working as an illustrator / artists?
• What advise would you give to a new artist trying to survive in the creative industry?

Key artists I want to contact:

• Marcus Method
• Mr Penfold
• Drips and Dots
• Nacho Eterno
• Captainearwax
• Peteobsolete

I will start be messaging these artist on instagram or emailing them asking if they are up for answering a few questions for me. I have chosen these artist specifically because I have discovered them recently and am very familiar with there work.

Research - Marcus Method

I really like Marcus Methods work, I can relate to his work a lot and think that I could apply some of my own work in a similar way. His work consists of screen prints, paintings, digital designs, murals, interior designs, clothing, embroided badges and even some 3D models. He has a very diverse portfolio of work that has emerged from an original street art /graffiti style. The bold and vibrant colours with heavy black outlines and subtle white highlights. He has an effective use of typography that really suites his illustration style. I love how he fills the compositions with his shapes and patterns. And how he uses this for his interior painting work - I think he uses his painting techniques in a clever way to adapt to all different kinds of shapes and environments. After meeting up with marcus method, studying his work and working along side him on the window display I felt he would be a good person to contact for my interview, and he would have some good relevant advise for me.

0000_Studio Exhibition in Manchester

0000_Studio was having another exhibition / event but this time at chapter one books in Manchester. I painted a big piece too exhibited inside the exhibition and they also wanted me to draw a live window display on the front of the building with another artist called Marcus Method. We where going to cover a window panel each. 

Painting I Exhibited Inside the Exhibition...

Sketch for the window display...

I sketched out a design for the widow, I had to send it too them before hand so they could have an idea how it look. It was also good for me to have on the day as something to work from when doing the live drawing, it makes working with composition a lot easier. The design had to incorporate the word 'colours and creeds' but on the day me and Marcus decided that we could a word each because we where painting next to each other and would help tie are designs together. The paintings had to be done with water based acrylic ink so that I would come off the windows easily enough.  

Finished window display...

I really enjoyed doing the window display it was a good experience and a good chance for me to make some good connections. Manchester is a good city and embraces a lot of street art. I was approached by a women outside when I was painting the window and she got my details and wants me to come and work on a big street art project in Manchester in summer. Even working alongside Marcus Method was good, it was a good chance to speak to someone else working within a very similar field too me. He pointed me in some good directions for getting involved in some mural work in the northern quarter, 'outhousemcr' is an instagram page that is always organising murals so I need to connect them soon about doing some artwork. Overall the exhibition was really successful, it was a fun day and I created a piece of art that I was happy with. Working on a window is something new to me, so i'm glad I had the opportunity to experiment with it. Hopefully it will be something I can continue to work with.

Research - Gabvisuals

I really like the work of Gabvisuals, I think it demonstrates really well how his illustrations can be applied to a range of different products like prints, paintings on wood, large scale murals, clothing, stickers and skateboards. He applies the same character creations to the different designs and uses the character to maintain a recognisable identity. His designs are well composed, I like how he fills the space on his large scale murals and uses the shapes of the buildings with his characters. Working within an environment and filling specific spaces with artwork is a skill that I have to apply within my own practice so finding other artists that tackle this is always inspiring. Also seeing how he translates his same character designs onto different products is something I can definitely apply within my own practice.