Adrian Dutt (UK)

Adrian Dutt (UK)

First time 0 saw Adrian's work was through the Josh T Pearson poster you can see below. Adrian just arrived on gigposters.com and I immediatly thought this was a talented guy and I had to interview him. The posters shown on gigposters.com were pretty good indeed, but I must recognized I really felt in love with his work when I saw other ones he was showing on his own site amongst a wide variety of other stuffs such as record covers, books and even interiors. Believe it or not but today, one of the best thing coming from the UK are not the olympics but definitly Adrian Dutt !!

Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question: what are we listening to when we come to visit you? 

Ty Segall’s new album Slaughterhouse! A good old fashioned slice of fuzzed out garage noise

Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do? 

Well, my name is Adrian Dutt, I’m an illustrator based in Bristol, England. When I’m not drawing, I co-run a noisy record label called ‘Howling Owl’     

When did you start drawing? 

I’ve been drawing since as far back as I remember. I was obsessed with birds as a kid, so I would spend endless hours drawing eagles and falcons. Then I discovered comics and started to emulate the images I was seeing! The older I got, the more focused I became and everything started looking better!

Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks? 

I studied Illustration at university, and came away with a 1^st, which is nice. I always knew I wanted to draw, but finding which part of the industry I suited best was difficult. Luckily my obsession with music exposed me to so many awesome illustrators so I knew where I wanted to go with it all! I started getting work properly in my 2^nd year of uni, so I kind of got a head start on people! I graduated last year, and havn’t looked back since!

Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ? 

I get by on it, being freelance is so tough. I work in a record shop to supplement it all. But it pretty much leaves me with no spare time…even sleeping seems a chore these days!

Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly? 

Fanzines are how I really started to get my work out there, I really can’t stress how important it is for people to just spread your wings and get into the world, exposure is hard! I still work for fanzines today, and it’s a priceless output for my illustrations.

Where does your influence come from? 

I’m influenced by nature, the imagination, and the dark places that exist inside us all! I like to bring those places to the foreground and create imagery that people can get  lost in. Everything around me can spark an idea, if I’m struggling with a brief then I go for a walk, or sit outside with a sketchbook, and things usually happen!

Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?

I was really influenced by Edward Gorey, Norman Rockwell and David Roberts. I love narrative work, and I try to make my imagery exciting using a narrative theme. Im a traditional hand drawn illustrator, only using a mac to colour things, I wish I could paint like Rockwell! One day….! Just browsing the artists on gigposters.com is mind blowing, there is some incredible talent out there, and the way peoples minds work is phenomenal! Saul bass and Olly moss are awesome graphical based poster designers who I look too when lost! The illustrators affiliated with Mondo Tees are all incredible! Also my father is an incredible sculptor, growing up surrounded by wildlife models really gave me an interest in the subject. 

What are the principal steps in your work ? 

I usually get an idea in my head at a random time, I then sketch that down somewhere and go back to it later. I work up roughs in my sketchbook, working out composition and then I get cracking. I hand draw my fonts, so working out what fonts I think will suit is usually an integral part of the process as the poster sometimes revolves around that!

Do you do everything by hand or on computer? 

Everything by hand, then scanned and coloured on a computer, or layered on a photocopier!

How long does it take you to do a poster? 

It can be anything from a few hours, to a day. I try to finish once I’ve started! It depends on how intricate the poster is!

You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?

My style has somewhat matured in the last 2 years, so I’m always looking to improve and adapt to new scenarios!  I am trying to get better at painting, so I think I would give it a go!

 For which band have you already worked for? 

Recently, First Aid Kit, Josh T Pearson, Memoryhouse and Sharon Van Etten have been my faves! There’s a lot more though!

For which band would you love to work? 

A Place to Bury Strangers, Sonic Youth, Ty Segall! There’s literally a million artists I would love to do show posters for, hopefully I can get out there more and tick them off! The National too, that would be big!

Do you choose the artists yourself? 

I get commissioned to do them. If I had the time I would do it all off my own back and speculative, if I see any of those bands playing in the UK soon perhaps I CAN BOMBARD THEM!

What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ? 

Making sure someone hasn’t already done it first! It would be embarrassing to do something, then get it sent back rejected because someone did it 6 months ago!

Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ? 

I don’t know, Bristol has a great scene which I’m just sitting on the edge of at the moment! I seem to get my work in international places, I’d love to belong to a collective of sorts, maybe I should start one?!

A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?

Well, www.adriandutt.co.uk is my website, but my blog is updated regularly at www.adrianduttlikesdrawing.tumblr.com

 

 The best praise you received lately? 

“You have a horribly sinister mind” or Sharon Van Etten saying kind words about the poster. Swoon!

What can we wish you for the future? 

I’d love to get further afield with my work, maybe get some connections in the US, Id love to have a show sometime, if anyone can help with that……get in touch!

I just want to make interesting visual pieces for people to see!

Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the website !!