Wednesday 30 January 2013

Artist profile: Lovepusher

Regulars to the Hall of Fame on Stockwell Park Estate will be familar with Artist Lovepusher. His art fuses dynamic 3D graffiti letters with Bold colours that almost jump off the wall. He paints straight from the heart and always carry's a message, one that in these turbulent times is inspiring to see set in the urban Landscape. One thing to note is that the internet doesn't really do justice to Lovepushers paintings, to really apprieciate them you have to be there and watch how the light, as it goes down brings his paintings alive.
Lovepusher came along to spend a couple of  days on Notre Dame estate to paint a special piece in the yard and I asked him a few questions

1) How important is it for you to plan what you are painting?
The idea of planning a concept wall or piece in my opinion is vital. Personally, I view planning beforehand as a prerequisite to painting. My work is always based on some form of complex narrative, so it’s really important that I plan every aspect of my paintings to ensure that the story is visually communicated to the audience in the best possible way.




2) what is the driving force behind your art?
I really wish I could define or categorize the driving force behind my artwork as one key thing, but in all honesty there’s a multitude of thoughts, feelings, emotions and beliefs that fuel me to do what I do. To provide one aspect of the driving force behind my artwork would only sell the others short and to define all of them would take us on an extraordinary never-ending story.

3) What inspires you visually and how do you come up with your effects?
Not to sound cliché, but I’m really inspired by every aspect of life. I refuse to sell myself short by only drawing on inspiration from within my culture (Graffiti-art). As an artist I feel it’s really important to expand your creative mind by looking further afield and being open-minded, allowing all forms of inspiration to filter into your artwork. Visually my work is very strong because I paint using a technique that allows me create 3Dimensional form. My technique also allows me to modulate traditional 3Dimensional geometric shapes, to create new and unusual forms that help in the story telling process of my artwork.  I wouldn’t say that I come up with these so-called effects, because visually many of these effects already exist in the natural world. It literally boils down to how much time you’re prepared to allocate towards studying certain effects so that if you choose to incorporate them into artwork, you can represent them in their true form which only adds strength to your work. 

4) how long do you spend on your pieces on average and when is the cut off point for you?
The amount of time I allocate to a piece really depends on how I’ve constructed that piece in relation to the story that I’m trying to communicate to the audience. If the story is very simple and direct then it may only take me day. On the other hand if the piece is based on a multi-faceted story then it could easily take 2 days. I never let time define the art but rather have the art define the timescale.


5) Have you had any formal art training?
No. Everything I’ve learnt regarding 3Dimensional form has been self taught. 


6) Can you tell us where you have travelled to paint and what were some of the memorable experiences?
As a result of my artwork I’ve been fortunate to visit and paint in the following countries; Ireland, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Thailand and North America. All of these locations are truly amazing in there own right. The most memorable experience would probably be visiting the beautiful forests in Finland. When you live in a concrete jungle for most of your life you really appreciate the beauty of nature.
7) What are you looking to do in the near future with your art?
In the near future I intend to delve deeper into my subconscious mind in the search for new stories and visual ways to represent them through my artwork. 






Be sure to check out Lovepushers work by going to www.facebook.com/Lovepusher.
So just as the cold started to bite on the Saturday morning  here is the complete set of pictures from start to finish of the piece Lovepusher did. Stay Inspired and Watch Our Space.







Always Remember...










Friday 25 January 2013

Working it

This weeks session had us working quite busily making an assortment of designs. We are creating a number of small boards with oil pastel designs on to become part of a bigger piece. Also on the menu were the flower designs painted onto the hand cut pallet wood which has now been put together. These will be displayed outside and one set will feature hubcaps that will be painted in the middle and the others will have light coverings as there middle. Sadly
the B&Q jigsaw " Challenge" has finally broken. After litrally cutting up more than 20 wood pallets it 's essential bits all came apart. We will send it on its way to the big jigsaw mountain...somewhere...out there. Join us next week and if you are reading this and want to take part, bring some ideas and some painting clothes.
























New artwork from Bonzai,

Artist Bonzai dropped by again to paint this small freestyle. Despite the snow and bitter cold the piece took around 5 hours to complete. Check out his work on www.flickr.com.Just search.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonzaione/