Working as both a fine artist and a graphic designer, how do you navigate the intersection of these two disciplines, and do you find that your graphic design work informs your art, or vice versa?

Graphic Design is fairly new to me, actually three days ago I hit the one year mark of being in my first design job. I decided to go back to school in the beginning of 2021 and get a design certificate. After COVID shut the world down, the possibility of losing my job and not having a plan B in place shook me to the core. I had been thinking of design as a way of getting out of my work situation in 2019, but COVID gave me the nudge to go after it. There are many things that design and fine art have in common, such as color, form, and composition, but the way they are applied is very different. With design you have to always keep in mind the audience you are creating for. Everything depends on the receiver and the brand's ideals, tone and purpose. You are a visual mediator for the two. With fine art it comes down to the artist and the work, it's a personal relationship, and the audience comes after. Design has yet to influence my artwork, but my drawing skills have definitely been put to use when creating certain assets and designs for my current employer. I have created illustrations by hand, in illustrator and Procreate, which have been used in marketing emails, printed flyers and mailers, and window graphics. In recent weeks I have been thinking a lot about how I can bring a digital aspect to my work. I'm getting some ideas that I think I might turn into paintings, but at the moment they are just ideas and I have not had the courage to try it out yet. We'll see where this goes. 

As a primary landscape artist, it's unexpected to see you based in one of the most vibrant cities on the planet! In what ways has your art evolved since moving to New York City?

I always think about the perception people have of me as an artist living in NYC who works with "traditional" landscapes. It's a funny thing to me as well. I shake my head and laugh about it from time to time and ask myself how did I end up here? To be honest though, New York has been a huge player in my growth as an artist. Although I grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, which is a two hour drive north from the city, it was still a different world. There were not many outlets for serious artists there. Moving to the city was what sparked a growth I don't think I would have had if I remained in Connecticut. In New York I met so many different artists working in different media and approaches. Many conversations happened, which led me to learn new things that come from the experience of a working artist. There are many different schools and studios one can attend to keep perfecting their craft as well. The access to museums and art collections is like no other in the country. All this has a tremendous effect on the growth of an artist. 

When I moved to NYC I was working as an abstract artist, painting large scale works; but that came to an end when the reality of small apartment living with someone else finally set in. As I scaled my work down it began to suffer. I was no longer able to move my arm the same way, I felt constricted. So, my answer to that was to scale down even more and go back to something familiar...still life painting. I had been painting still lifes in the early years of art school, but now my use of color opened up more. I encountered the work of Vermeer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I wanted to recreate his use of light. The Met has been one of the greatest sources of inspiration for me, it is there where I encountered Corot and other landscape painters. At one point I decided that I wanted to paint a landscape, I was working from photographs, and although the first two paintings came out alright, they were missing something. Another fellow painter saw them and immediately he could tell that I was using photos, and he suggested that I paint in plein air. And that's exactly what I did. I enrolled in a plein air painting class which took place in Central Park, and from then on I was hooked! I loved the feeling of sun on my face, the sound of air rustling the leaves of trees, the way light flickers as it moves in space. For a number of years painting in Central Park during spring and summer became very important to my work. Later on I began painting in Prospect Park (Brooklyn) with another painter friend, and that also had an effect on my work. New York is known as a concrete jungle, but it does have areas and parks where nature can be experienced. I don't paint in plein air anymore, at least not at the moment, but all my experiences I've had while doing it have been collected in my memory card and I pull from that to create the work I'm currently doing. In all, every aspect of me as an artist, and in life, has been shaped by this city. 

Your drawings often have a unique atmosphere to them. What is your creative process to capture the landscape's mood?

Light and atmosphere are very important to my work. Those were the things I paid attention to when painting outdoors. I found an element of magic in them, and I'm constantly thinking about how I can replicate that feeling in my work. It's like when you see a beautiful film or documentary when it captures places at a specific time, in slow motion, and it makes you want to be there because it seems like there might not be another more beautiful place in the world. That's the feeling I'm always trying to capture. Whether I'm working with a pen drawing, monotype, or painting, the main tools I have to get this feeling across are tone and mass. I have to create light and dark areas, moments of wispynes that fade into the background, and balance that against more solid and sharper shapes. It also comes down to understanding your materials, and pushing them to get your vision across. 

You share a lot of your sketchbook work. What makes it an important part of your practice?

It's a funny thing that sketchbooks have become so vital to me as an artist.  When I was in art school, I was instructed to keep a sketchbook and plan my work ahead. I hated the idea because I thought that I could work out all painting problems directly on the canvas. Well, I was wrong and foolish. I began keeping a sketchbook after moving to New York, it was a good way to jot down ideas, plan out paintings, and it was also portable. I was able to take it with me everywhere, and whenever I had down time, or when "inspiration" hit, I would put it to use. As I began to dive deep into monotype printing the use of my sketchbook increased. I began making thumbnail sketches for compositions I wanted to try out, I was preparing myself so when I was able to print I was ready to go. I don't own a press, so every minute is valuable when I'm able to use one. After time, the thumbnail sketches began to grow in size and complexity, and soon the sketchbook became the artwork itself. My time is very limited because I have a full time job, and also life in general can keep me away from the studio, so having a sketchbook on hand at all times keeps me productive. It also keeps my mind sharp. I'm not going to lie, sharing my sketchbook on Instagram helped me get a bigger reach, it made me realize that there was something special there. More people were connecting with the sketchbook drawings than the rest of my work, and I enjoyed it. I later realized that a pen (or pencil) and a sketchbook are more accessible and relatable to people around the world, and that creates a sense of community because we all have something in common. Not everyone has access to oil paint, canvas, a proper studio, a printing press...but most have access to a writing tool, paper, and time. 

What aspects of the monotype printing process do you find most appealing, and how has this medium allowed you to explore new dimensions in your art?

What I love about monotype printing is the immediacy. It's also the perfect marriage between painting and drawing; I'm able to push ink around like paint, while at the same time not having the stress or fear that I may ruin a perfect (and expensive) canvas if it all goes wrong. This gave me more freedom to live in the moment and to just let my emotions take the driver seat. Especially one night when at the last minute I put the sketchbook away and I began to free flow on the copper plate and began pulling ink out, and pushing it here and there, to then create a landscape from imagination. From then on working from imagination has become the main source for most of the work I do. Monotype not only gave me more freedom, but has also provided a new way of working. After years of collecting the ghost prints (second, faded print after original is printed) I found a new way to make use of them. During lockdown I began drawing over them with pen and ink, and gave them new life (no pun intended). This series continues and I'm enjoying the process. 

Can you discuss a particular piece or project that has been especially challenging or rewarding for you as an artist, and what you learned from the experience?

I can't think of a specific piece per say because each one brings its own challenges and rewards. The main challenge I face as an artist in general is staying true to myself. There have been so many people who give their opinions about where they see my work going, what I should draw or paint, or how I need to scale up my work; but in the end I have to look past it and focus on what's in my heart, because that's what's leading me to fulfill my vision. It's difficult not to compare yourself to other artists and say "oh maybe I should try that," or "why am I not as good as they are?" In the end I have to put my head down, continue working and do my best and let my work develop on its own. One of the best pieces of advice I received from a professor in art school was no matter what medium or aesthetic I was working in, the most important thing is to keep it honest. People will see that and have a positive response to your work. 

Thank you so much Luis for sharing your art with us. If you want to see more of his work, you can find it at the following:

Instagram

Twitter

Youtube

Facebook

You can buy original artwork directly on Luis Colan’s website.

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If you enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to someone that you think would love it just as much!

— Adrien @adriengonin

Can you share with us your artistic background and how you developed your unique style of portraying these intimate moments in such vibrant colors?

I am a London-based contemporary figurative painter and art educator. I was born in Poland and knew I wanted to be an artist from a very early age. I took every opportunity at school and during my free time to develop my skills and learn about various art techniques. I attended Art College and the Art University in Zielona Gora, earning an MA in Visual Arts and Art Education. After moving to London over a decade ago, I immediately fell in love with the city. Amazed and entranced by diverse cultures and the vibrant energy, I began to paint oil portraits of new acquaintances and friends within the artist community of North London.

Since the Pandemic, I have started working on my carrier as professional, full-time artist. The vibrant colour palette is a tool to show the positive atmosphere in my paintings. I always used striking and contrasting colours, but my work became even more vivid with neon tones over time.  

Growing up in Poland in the early 90s, I occasionally saw flashes of neon colours on  American television and loved them. These fancy neon pinks, lemon yellow or vivid greens weren't accessible to me when I was a child, and now I am fulfilling my desire to use these colours. 

A big city like London, with its vibrant lights, where I am surrounded by people from all over the world wearing amazing outfits full of patterns, and exotic motives, is exciting and inspiring to me. I also draw inspiration for my colour palette from street art, graffiti, animation, and video. 

 I feel much happier when surrounded by vibrant, colourful patterns, and I want to transfer the positivity of this rich palette into my paintings. 

What is a part of your creative process that you particularly enjoy?

I enjoy these moments when I come up with an idea for a painting. Usually, they are unexpected opportunities when I meet someone I want to paint. My models are my friends but often strangers who I met at the local cafe, pub or among creatives from my neighbourhood. I love to get to know new people and their life stories. It's about their exciting appearance and a positive vibe and good energy between us. Once I know who I will paint and have an idea for the composition, I can focus on materials and colour. I really enjoy working in oils and various media on canvas. Painting is a natural and very intuitive medium for me. I love oils, acrylics, watercolours and inks with their fluidity and multiple textures and smells. Most importantly, I am an artist who best describes the atmosphere of my painted subjects in colour. I love the vibrancy, contrasts and kaleidoscopic, clashing tones. The painting process is like a puzzle I must assemble to achieve the desired result. I enjoy the creative process, from the idea and sketch to building a specific composition on canvas. Painting is a therapy, a form of meditation, but also a reason I wake up daily with excitement for a new challenge.

Would you tell us about a piece or series you've created that you are particularly proud of, and why?

My proudest piece is my painting 'Family', a portrait of me, my husband and our two cats, Sumo and Mia. This painting was created during the Pandemic and is one of the 'Intimate Time' artworks. At that challenging time when I couldn't paint other people, I focused my work on my relationship and self-portrait. Despite the anxiety and insecurity about the future, I was happy to be with my husband and appreciated every moment of our everyday life.

While working on the 'Intimate times' series, I wanted people to remember that there are many simple reasons to be happy. Ordinary daily life situations can bring joy and gratitude. Like many people, I struggle with anxiety but prefer to find reasons to smile and focus on the breathtaking nature and people surrounding me. Simple things like sunlight coming through the windows and reflecting on my growing plants, the vibrant colours in nature and on the streets, the kindness of my husband who shares with me my passion for art, my love for animals, especially my two cats who bring so much laughter to my every day. Also, the acceptance of our bodies, sensuality and trust in the relationship with another person. I hope that the viewers of my work feel relaxed, easy and optimistic about their experiences. 

In the new series 'My Paradise', I still explore relationships and love between people capturing the stories of others. I am excited to paint different people and have good conversations with them about their love and struggles often related to their race or sexuality.

Your recent work often uses mixed media, what drives you to explore new techniques?

I am a watercolour painting teacher, so naturally, I work in this medium occasionally. I love the fluidity of inks and acrylics, which I sometimes merge with oils on my canvases or enjoy using on big watercolour paper. While studying Art Education 15 years ago back in Poland, I learned about every possible art medium:  traditional graphics like lino print or screen print, sculpture, photography, drawing and painting, but it's an oil painting I choose to use as the primary medium. Over time I had this growing need for a more vibrant colour palette. Admiring some of the artwork made by Jose Luis Cena, one of my favourite painters, I got to add some flushes of neon colours to my works. Then I experimented by mixing the neon acrylics with oils to achieve a more vivid palette, even for the flesh and skin tones.  As a fan of street art, I wanted to add something extra by using kaleidoscopic spray paints and get more even coverage of the painting surface. At some point, I got addicted to very bright, almost clashing colours. I enjoy finding a balance within colour chaos in my paintings.

Can you share any projects you are working on now, or any upcoming exhibitions?

I just exhibited at The Other Art Fair at Truman Brewery in London, and after a few very intensive days, I feel like having a little break :) It was my third time showing with TOAF, and I loved the atmosphere of this event and all the inspiring artists and visitors who came to see my paintings in person. I will definitely return to the Truman Brewery in October. 

I have a little show with Oink Gallery in a few days. Also, two London galleries at the art fair approached me with proposals to exhibit with them in the upcoming months, but I will have more details later. Now I want to return to the studio, work on new paintings, and enjoy the process. I will continue exploring relationships with people from different cultures, races and backgrounds. I found this subject inspiring as love and acceptance are essential to survive the modern world's escalating cruelty and hate towards everything different.

Thank you so much Joanna for sharing your art with us. If you want to see more of her work, you can find it at the following:

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

Personal website

You can buy original artwork directly on Joanna Pilarczyk’s website.

Thanks for tuning in for this edition of Arterald!

If you enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to someone that you think would love it just as much!

— Adrien @adriengonin

Your work often features cityscapes and nightscapes - what do these environments represent to you, and how do you capture their essence in your art?

I grew up in the city - the skyscrapers, the urban city life; all the street lights were 'home' to me. And so naturally, it became the subject I gravitated towards painting. But more than that, I sometimes see cityscapes as a medium or tool in itself, through which I can capture and reveal the underlying beauty, and sense of wonder embedded in the colors, geometry, brushstrokes, and life of a street scene. It’s quite a natural process I think. Rather than approaching it intentionally this is what I want to show in the painting, I think I notice it in retrospect. Like oh, that’s how I saw it, after I finish the painting.

What initially drew you to watercolor as a medium, and how do you work with its unique properties?

I first picked up watercolor because I wanted to do plein air and it was the easiest to travel with. But watercolor became so much more to me along the way. I love the way water moves; it is one of the more dynamic types of mediums. Painting is a bit like a dance with water, a question and answer, a conversation. You learn to observe, to wait and see where the colors end up in each layer before responding with a new layer of paint. I like that watercolor is a medium you can never fully control, yet that is precisely what makes it so beautiful.

How do you balance the technical aspects of painting with the more intuitive, expressive elements of creating art?

At some point, the technical and intuitive become one; you no longer have to actively distinguish them. I see skills and techniques as tools—you work to understand them, master them, so that they can be at your disposal when creating. It's about getting to know the medium you are using so that it becomes second nature. You recognize the dampness of the paper and what that will do. You know the water-to-paint ratio in your colors by feel and how to adjust that. With that, you have more space to simply create, experiment, and express.

You enjoy sharing your process online and teaching in workshops. What do you hope students take away from your teaching?

I think watercolor paintings are commonly quite soft and light in color. With my own journey in painting night cityscapes— usually using high contrast to create a “glowing” effect—I wanted to share with others what that process is like, to show the versatility of this medium and that yes, this is also possible with watercolor.

How do you envision your artistic practice evolving in the future, and what new challenges or ideas are you excited to explore?

For one, I'm always trying to push the boundaries of color. That is very enjoyable for me when I get to experiment with color. But overall, I think I'll just let it take me where it takes me. Beyond watercolor painting, I also do quite a bit of digital painting for fun. It feels like a different set of rules, limitations, or lack thereof. I am interested to see how I might interweave the two. But I guess I'll have to wait and see how my own art practice continues to unfold.

I want to send a heartfelt thank you to our amazing readers for your support and engagement on the launch of this project. A special thanks to RAINB.W for sharing her inspiring thoughts and artistic journey with us! You can follow her work at the following :

Instagram

YouTube

Personal website

You can buy original artwork directly on RAINB.W’s website.

Thanks for tuning in for this edition of Arterald!

If you enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to someone that you think would love it just as much!

— Adrien @adriengonin

Can you talk about your experience working in the Japanese animation industry and how it has influenced your art?

It made me a more skillful artist, for sure! In my experience so far, I have been gaining abilities and developing my style the most when making bigger projects - may it be an illustration series, a manga, or indeed more than a hundred backgrounds for an animated movie. A big workload with a set goal and high-quality standards is something that always pushes the boundary of what I can do and makes me a better craftsman. While working at the animation studio, I especially learned fast and efficiently because I had the Background Art Director literally next to me, editing every piece I painted, making it better with just a few crucial adjustments. It was a feedback-loop process where I tried to paint in a way that would result in as few directorial edits as possible - and the further into the movie-making process we went, the fewer fixes I saw.

But, of course, there is also a downside - in the animation industry, there is no rest - just the next project on the horizon. Each day there are new sketches for backgrounds waiting with somebody else having already decided what has to be painted and how, with what colors, and with which brushes. It's a never-ending loop of craftsmanship work that, at a certain point, started to be just too much, and I had to quit to be able to do more of my own creative art things.

What is your creative process? How do you take an idea from concept to final piece?

This differs a lot from piece to piece. Sometimes I start from a direct photo reference and just try to recreate what I like about the scene in paints or digitally. I can also start with a completely nebulous idea that is more "a word" than an image and create sketches until I find something that feels close to what I meant by that word.

For years, I worked mostly from direct references, but recently, I've been trying to move to a more flexible, imaginative process where I pay attention more to the feelings, atmosphere, and story of a piece than to how realistic the details are.

I usually do a few pages of very simple sketches, and then, when I feel that I have a grasp of the overall layout of the scene, I draw another two or three rough images getting more specific with each step. When the picture is mostly formed, I test-color it in my sketchbook or digitally to decide the colors too. As you see - most of the time, I'm not one of the artists that can "see images in their head" very clearly, and I have to spend a lot of time developing my ideas on paper.

When the final sketches and tests are ready, I can paint the piece, either digitally or by hand, the same as I would do with painting directly from a photo, because I already have everything figured out.

Can you discuss a piece or series you've created that you are particularly proud of and why?

I have a few pieces that came out nicely, sort of naturally, and exceeded my expectations. The problem is that I cannot say, "AHA! That's how you paint nice pictures!" and do that thing again. Even in my series of paintings, each work is different. The only thing I can do is work on the next thing, using what I learned, and hope that I will get "lucky" again - the quote saying that *inspiration comes to the person that's working* is probably true.

The first "Bicycle Boy" illustration was like this, and the meat shop from my "Storefronts" was too. There is just something light and natural about those pieces that I chase after in my other works.

The exciting thing is that the audience often likes completely different works than those I'm proud of. 

How has your work evolved over time, and where do you see it going in the future?

There was a time when I was just content with painting things that looked competent and well-detailed. I was in love with anime and Japanese comics and tried to emulate the drawing and painting style as well as I could - trying to make my art look "like this" or "like that" was all I was thinking about.

In a way, I miss that period a bit - I could be happy just because I managed to paint a window or a difficult tree realistically or as well as in "Anime Whatever." But because I was seeking validation of my art in others - *if I show anyone a tree painted this nice, they will praise me as an artist* - there came a moment when I completely burned out and started hating the art and the process. The painting marathon at the animation studio contributed to this burnout too, I guess.

Now, I'm slowly trying to recover my artistic energies, paying more attention to what I want to make art ABOUT and less to how detailed my trees are or how fast I can churn out finished images. One result of this is me getting back to the thing I really wanted to do when I came to Japan more than ten years ago - making stories with manga. I already published a short manga in a short story collection book last year.

Can you share any projects you are working on now, or any upcoming exhibitions?

Recently I have been trying not to put too many projects on myself, so I can be more focused and more deeply involved in the things I actually do. This means, sadly for many of my fans, fewer social media posts and fewer videos on YouTube, but more finished illustrations for my upcoming book about Japanese stores (this time, I imagine cute and retro stores based on things I saw all-around Japan). You can see me posting the new store illustrations on my Instagram.

But what's more exciting for me is that I also started working on a story for a longer comic that hopefully will go into production at the end of this year too!

Mateusz’s studio

Thanks again to Mateusz for his time, I hope you enjoyed discovering his work! You can find him at the following:

Instagram

Youtube

Personal Website

You can support his work via Patreon or buy his original artwork. Say hi from me if you do!

Thanks for tuning in for this first edition of Arterald!

If you enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to someone that you think would love it just as much!

— Adrien @adriengonin