OD Art Dept.

More than vintage frames inspire us. The work of artists and musicians drive us to create and influence our output.

So we ran a little paid competition to see what art OD could inspire.

We caught up with some of the winners below to learn more about their process, inspiration and drive.

Evanne — Winner

You - Who are you?
I’m a UK based fine art student in my final year of studying for a BA. I’m aspiring for a digitally-based creative career in a field such as graphic design or animation.

Creativity - what do you do/where do you look for inspiration?
I find I’m often inspired by things others may not notice or care about, and I like to draw attention to these mundane objects or processes. In a recent exhibition, Made a series of paper cranes and documented the process of folding and unfolding these objects until the paper fell apart through animation and photography. Much of my art practice is digitally focused through creating videos, animations, projections and taking photographs. I also like to experiment a lot with time, movement and colour in my work.

Drive - What drives you to do your work / create?
I find that I am predominantly driven by my desire to overcome the adversity I’ve faced as a young person with cancer. I was diagnosed with a brain tumour at 18, and although I am in remission, I strive to make the most of every day and pursue my passion of art, making the best work I can. My family are also a big source of inspiration, mainly my mum, who is an art teacher and has inspired me to be creative all my life.

Craft - What do you enjoy most about the process?
I’ve always found art to be incredibly therapeutic as I’m sure many others do. I feel a great sense of focus and purpose  when I’m working on a piece, and lose sight of any trivial worried outside of the studio space.

Journey - Has art taken you anywhere interesting/unusual/adventures?
After leaving school, I initially decided to pursue English Literature, but after being diagnosed with a brain tumour  at the end of my first term in university, I was completely blindsided and had to drop out. Whilst I was recovering I realised how important it was to do something I really loved and I knew that what I really wanted to pursue was art. Since changing my degree I’ve made really amazing friends on my course, and developed a completely new practice, becoming happier and much more confident about my work.

What advice would you give to someone with an idea that would like to create
If I was to give advice to someone who is wanting to create an idea they’re thinking about, I’d be inclined to quote Nike and say just do it. Making art can be quite an intimidating process, especially if things don’t quite go as planned. It can be tempting to give up out of frustration, but as an art student I’ve learnt to celebrate my failures and use them to produce better work

Have you got any projects or exciting stuff coming up that you’d like us to talk about?
I’m moving into my final term at University soon, and will be part of the 2022 degree show that will be exhibited in June.

 

Nat — Runner Up

You - Who are you?
I'm Nat (SimpleSoul Art) a self-taught freelance digital artist from Manchester.

Creativity - what do you do/where do you look for inspiration?
I find my inspiration from a variety of things to be honest. I have an influence of Egyptian culture and universal concepts within my work whilst also having a focus on representing the LGBTQ+ community.

Drive - What drives you to do your work / create?
My drive is to create artwork that makes you feel something and to have a positive impact on whoever comes across it.

Craft - What do you enjoy most about the process?
I enjoy being able to be in my own world and explore and push myself to create things that may not have been a visual in the same way I do.

Journey - Has art taken you anywhere interesting/unusual/adventures?
Apart from the interesting and unusual concepts and adventures I go through in my mind when creating new artwork sometimes, not really .

What advice would you give to someone with an idea that would like to create
We all have to start somewhere. Write it down, no matter how big or small the idea is. Create a visual board and place it somewhere you will see it everyday to motivate you. All we can do is try because without trying you will never know.

Have you got any projects or exciting stuff coming up that you’d like us to talk about?
None as of yet. Currently in the research stage of NFTs so hopefully that may be an avenue to many future collaborations and projects.

 

Aydan — Runner Up

You - Who are you?
My name is Aydan, I'm a Graphic Designer from Coventry

Creativity - what do you do/where do you look for inspiration?
Usually I will work from a place of admiration/ appreciation for the subject, I've always been drawn to portraits, and with them taking so long to do, I generally have to have a lot of respect or admiration for the person I'm drawing/painting. I've found this to be  almost entirely people within the arts, like musicians, filmmakers, visual artists and on occasion martial artists, but the through line is they are people I consider masters of their crafts.

Drive - What drives you to do your work / create?
Since I was a kid, I've always had difficulty focusing on singular things for prolonged periods of time, but its one of the few things I've been able to completely lose myself in for hours on end, so I find it to be quite meditative in that sense, but there's also a sense of pride or accomplishment when you're happy with the end result. Overall though I guess the drive comes from wanting to create something that I think is better than the last thing I created.

Craft - What do you enjoy most about the process?
I tend to start almost all of my work from quite a rough place, laying colours and shapes/brushstrokes over my initial lost sketch so they can take a while to start coming together, but theres usually a stage quite late in the process where things really start clicking and taking shape, it feels like getting a second wind like the time/work is starting to pay off. From there there's usually a final touch, like a highlight on an eye or tip of the nose that just elevates the whole piece so if I had to narrow it down probably that.

Journey - Has art taken you anywhere interesting/unusual/adventures?
Other than a few probably too long winded weird stories from a brief stint at uni for art, the way this competition played out was a pretty cool one, I was actually on the site about to buy the glasses when I opened instagram and was immediately hit with an ad about the competition. It gave me the first push in a while to make something and I immediately got to work. So I got the glasses I wanted and a push to create from what felt like a pretty rare coincidence.

What advice would you give to someone with an idea that would like to create
Look at what other people are doing, with instagram and youtube etc. there are so many artists doing cool things and as long as you can get over being crippled by how great they are its hard not to be inspired to make something yourself. That, and keeping it fun, doing it for yourself it feels like theres an expectation for everything is monotized or shared these days and making money is obviously great but its nice to have something you can retreat to that gets you away from everything else.

Have you got any projects or exciting stuff coming up that you’d like us to talk about?
Not really at the moment, I tend to get hit with inspiration quite sporadically and the drive to make is a lot stronger than the drive to promote or share, which is probably something I should work on but If I've got loads of stuff thats finished and hopefully loads more to come so if I ever get around to posting them it will be on instagram

 

Kim — Runner Up

You - Who are you?
My name is Kim, I am a portrait and fashion illustration artist originally from California.

Creativity - what do you do/where do you look for inspiration?
I have been many things job wise. Whilst always making art as a side hustle, I also managed a Sephora in California, was an art teacher and currently am an English teacher. All of these jobs have allowed me to artistically venture in to new places.

I look for inspiration in unique colors and texture; the texture of old metal, colorful textured houses around the world, knit on leather, etc.

Drive - What drives you to do your work / create?
I am driven by an innate compulsive desire to create. I get a massive amount of satisfaction by creating things. I feel whole when a piece is completed. And when I dont feel like drawing, my husband is my best motivator! He makes my art a massive priority always.

Craft - What do you enjoy most about the process?
I really enjoy mixing colors! There are so many colors in places you never expect. For example, skin is never just brown or cream. It will reflect color from its surroundings. I often find many greens, reds, purples, yellows and pinks in skin tones. It's so much fun to play with and see the result!

Journey - Has art taken you anywhere interesting/unusual/adventures?
 I've been in art school since I was maybe 9 years old, then eventually ended up at the London College of Fashion. (my mom saw me drawing Sailor Moon very young and made it a major goal to help me pursue art, thank you mom ) Since then, I've travelled to so many beautiful countries like Vietnam and Australia! This has led to commissioned portraits and pieces from all over the world. So I guess you can say art has allowed me to travel more than I would have without it! I have met some really interesting people and gained a more well-rounded understanding of how color plays a part in our lives.

What advice would you give to someone with an idea that would like to create
I would tell them to keep an open mind about the finished result and to not stop, even if they begin to hate the piece. That is something I see artists do so often! Just put it down for a bit and come back to it. Some art work goes through a rough patch whilst it is being created, but it isn't the end of the piece. It just needs to be played around with. If you come back to it later, you will likely find whatever was missing.

Have you got any projects or exciting stuff coming up that you’d like us to talk about?
I will be in Portugal for 3 months to take in some of the countries beautiful colors and hopefully find more inspiration! I am also always taking commissions! You can DM me on instagram or check out my Behance.

 

Ebba — Runner Up

You - Who are you?
My name is Ebba, and I am a 22-year-old, Swedish post-graduate student and artist currently living in Dublin.

Creativity - what do you do/where do you look for inspiration?
I am usually inspired by the people around me. Often it's family, friends, or random people on the street that I take inspiration from. (Through their style, humour or just my general perception of them). But I do think inspiration can be taken from absolutely anywhere, which is part of what makes art so fun. Aesthetically, I have no idea what my art can be described as 'inspired by' but I'm sure it has bits and pieces from a lot of different people and styles.

Drive - What drives you to do your work / create?
Doing a post-graduate degree in international security can be quite depressing given the state of the world, so art is an escape for me. It drives me to create pieces of work that are (not always but usually) fun, perhaps on the verge of childish, and joyful. I often create things for my friends because it makes me happy and it makes them happy, simple as.

Craft - What do you enjoy most about the process?
I love being able to create worlds of my own. The ability to start with an idea or a concept and having the tools to build/develop it and seeing it come to life is something I'm really grateful for.

Journey - Has art taken you anywhere interesting/unusual/adventures?
I didn't really share my art for a long time, so I can't say that it has. But I guess without sounding too cliche, every piece is a bit of an adventure of its own. I never know exactly how the final product is gonna look, I'm just there for the ride.

What advice would you give to someone with an idea that would like to create
Just start! My friends and family often tell me that they 'could never' and they're just not artistically talented but that's not true. Anyone can create, and while there might be some level of talent involved, most of it is just practice, practice, practice.

Have you got any projects or exciting stuff coming up that you’d like us to talk about?
I'm currently working on a collection of posters with Untold Prints that will hopefully be available in summer. Otherwise I'm just creating and posting on my art Instagram