KITCH-EN GALLERY

Graphic designer and artist, Craww plies his trade from the fair city of Sheffield.

 

Craww likes ambiguity. Pretty things in dark places, nasty things masquerading in beauty, hidden stories and happy accidents. He likes skulls, tattoos, crows and melancholic girls with big hands.

 

Painting traditionally, or combining Photoshop with pencil, paint, and way too much spilt ink, he aims to bring his stream of consciousness droodlings to life with a mix of elegance, balance and disciplined chaos.

 

For those who've not heard of you can you shine a little light on who Craww is?

Artist, doodler and dreamer.
  
I'm sure your parents didn't call you Craww so where does the name come from?

It came from a period when I was drawing a lot of crows and it sort of stuck. It’s kinda like the sound crows make. But better.

 

Where do you call home?

Just outside of Sheffield, on the edge of the Peak District. Surrounded by Trails and hills. Amazing place.

 

Not somewhere you'd swap for the hustle and bustle of a city life then, hey?

Nah, I’ve “done” hustle and bustle. I’m not really a people person, but the beauty of Sheffield is that you can live in the Peaks, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, and the bars, clubs and gigs of Sheff are only a
15 minute drive away. Best of both worlds really!

 

How would you describe your work to someone who's never seen it?

Stream of consciousness doodlings and paintings. Steeped in ambiguity, often melancholic and usually featuring big hands. And crows.

 

And skulls........? One could be excused for seeing hints of dark enigmatic fairy tale story telling in your work, would you agree?

Skulls are just cool, and they are handy for throwing in a curveball, messing with the narrative. If they tick the dark enigmatic fairytale box, I’m happy with that.

 

How long have you been putting ink to paper?

Since I was a kid really. I’ve always doodled but it’s only recently, the past 2 or 3 years that I’ve seen it as anything other than a private pastime and have made a conscious effort to improve and learn.

 

In regards to that, you recently did a piece on an old wooden panel, which isn't the easiest of surfaces to work on, how did you find the whole process and do you see yourself using less conventional materials in the future?

Aha yes! The wood panels were fun, in a painful sort of way.

 

Painting on paper, I’d arrived at a way of working where I totally soak the paper then build layer upon layer of washes, so the first thing I did with a wood panel was lay down a wash. Which just sat there and then pooled into puddles. I had to adopt a different, bolder approach, although with the wood surface I found there was much more room for error than with paper.

 

In fact, the first panel was so bad I spent half an hour sanding it all off again, but the paint that stayed added to the effect of the second attempt. I really like how the surface and textures of wood add to a piece. I think I’ve learned enough over the past few tries that the next one will be a much more focused attempt, and I still have a couple of really cool old drawers to paint on.

 

As for the future, I definitely want to try less conventional materials. Someone recently suggested painting over things with bleach, which could lead to some interesting effects, although I’m not sure the kitchen table is up to it...

 

Who and/or what do you gather your main influences from?

I’d say I’m influenced in one way or another by pretty much everything around me. It all goes into a big blender and influences my mood and train of thought, which eventually finds it way out onto paper/canvas/wood/computer screen. I’m not a big “Thinker” I don’t usually analyze what I’m doing or have a plan, I tend to go with gut reaction!

 

There’s a lot of artists I really admire. In particular, James Jean blows me away every time and I love the work Herakut put out I guess they all influence me in some way, although I’m nowhere near their level unfortunately!

 

So, do you see the development of an artist as an integral part of the process or a spontaneous action?

Both. Probably. It’s important to me to learn/evolve/grow, if only for my own sanity. I think if you care about what you do, you can’t help but grow. Who wants to be doing the same thing years down the line?!

 

What does the future hold for Craww?

In general terms, more of the same, but bigger and better!

 

I hope I continue to grow and develop as an artist. I want to learn and try working in new materials and just really develop a body of work. I’d love to work with new people, new projects and continue to develop my more personal work.

 

It’s only recently that I’ve realised there are people interested in my work enough to buy it, I want to build on that and get my work in front of new people, I’m hopefully looking at my first solo show later in the year.

 

I’m in the process of leaving my full time job as a graphic designer so that I can spend time making the above happen!

 

How do you think you'll find the transition from being given client’s briefs and tight deadlines to having the freedom to create what you want when you want?

 

I can’t wait! The whole thing started as a reaction to the restrictions of client briefs and a commercial environment - creativity and the bottom line don’t go together too well. It took a while to adapt to the freedom, I’d find myself trying to rationalize and justify my work to myself, but I’m making a conscious effort to just let go. It’s more enjoyable, and I think my best ideas come when my thinking is just in freefall!

 

You spoke of working with new people, every artist has a dream list, and if you could collab with anyone who'd it be?

Not a question I can answer without sounding really cheesy! Anyone that can inspire/motivate/stimulate me I guess. It doesn’t have to be a one on one collab, it could be a studio collective environment. Just somewhere/someone I can buzz off. I’m open to offers!

 

But it has to happen organically, no point in trying to force these things just to try and create an end result, yeh?

For sure. It’s just important to be aware that there’s way more room to grow and you’re only going to do that if you stay open minded, open to new ideas.

 

Well, the dinner bell is ringing so time to go and fill up, but we have one final, yet most important, question left - tea or coffee?

Tea. Drink of the gods.