|d|
April - Spray Art
Ross Breen, Designer, 26
Ross has worked in the _space group for two years, starting out in Waring and Netts and moving over to sister company Ward Robinson in 2007.
The story of Ross' artistic development starts like many others. "I would always imagine a vision or scene in my head, sketching out how it would look, I'd then challenge myself to see if I could paint it. I started adapting this to images I found in the real world; taking photos of certain landscapes or reproducing locations I'd seen on TV."
Ross first found that he had a talent for painting during a family holiday as a child. Whilst walking in the Majorcan town of Cala D'or, he would watch street artist Juan Baltazar making spray paint pictures. They started to strike up a conversation and eventually made a deal with each other; Juan would teach Ross the spray painting technique and Ross would teach Juan to speak English. The rest, as they say, is history.
Ross continues the story "I chose this style because I find it an easier way to express myself. Its a skill but also a fast method to produce paintings. You get crisp lines and an almost photo quality finish to it. There are also few people that can actually do it and that was a draw as well. I would consider everything playing a role in influencing my work. Our surroundings, peoples' visions, landscapes, outer space, waterfalls, skylines and also the artist that showed me this skill. I still see Juan when I go back to Majorca and we discuss different and new techniques that we've encountered. I'm constantly pushing myself to try new things and one of the paintings I'm working on now is of the New York skyline."
And the next challenge for Ross? "I have been asked to display my paintings in a gallery in Newcastle (dates still to be confirmed), as well as being contacted by a group of artists in America who have seen my work and would like to display it, which has been a great boost and has influenced me to take my work further. I've also been asked by a few friends to paint a scene onto their living rooms and bedrooms and these will be the largest canvases I've worked on. I'm hoping they'll inspire me and that my friends enjoy my work."
Of course, we will keep you updated on Ross' work and wish him all the best. These images are just some of his paintings, but to see them at their best, visit spaceworks and get a look at the real thing.