Unknown Prints Blog

Q&A - Pragya Kothari

Tell us a bit about yourself

My name is Pragya and I’m an illustrator and licensing artist.

Originally from north India, I now call United States my home. I live here with my husband and one very naughty but adorable bunny.

Early 2009 I found my ‘voice’ as an illustrator and soon realized I could make a living doing what I love. In addition to selling my work online and in various stores around the country I also license. It’s very fulfilling personally.

How do you go about creating your pieces? 

Fascinated with the world around me, I use my favorite animate and inanimate ‘things’ as a means to tell a story. I’m a lover of bright saturated colors and use them to add humor, beauty and playfulness to the ordinary.

Mostly I have a clear idea of what I want before I begin. During the process of drawing new ideas sometimes come out too. I primarily use Adobe Illustrator to draw.

What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?

Life as a collection and interaction of real and imaginary things is a cornucopia of inspiration.
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

My favorites are constantly changing. Currently I’m in love with all my floral pieces. No matter what is happening outside, inside the four walls, it is always spring.

5.Any current projects/shows/releases you want to advertise?

I recently completed a project that is really close to my heart. It is a fusion of two of my favorite things. Wild animals and Rajasthani turbans. Its called Royal Safari and will be available for purchase soon on pragyak.etsy.com.

Pragya’s print is available here.

Q&A - Rachel Adams

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m Rachel Adams, I live and work from my home studio in Colchester, Essex. Not too long ago I decided to take a risk and retrain. Leaving a secure job in education, I enrolled on an Art and Design Degree course at my local college, where began a creative journey that was to change my life forever.

How do you go about creating your pieces? 

I use Adobe Creative Suite to produce most of my designs, although many of them start in a sketchbook as simple line drawings. I am a huge fan of using block colour, and take pleasure in working with bright, bold tints and hues.

What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?

Raising twin boys alone from my early twenties meant my own dreams and goals were temporarily put on hold. However, the trials and tribulations have been the main driving force behind my desire to be creative.
Being solely responsible for the welfare of others has taught me to be imaginative in my approach to life and the challenges it presents. As a result I have developed a good eye for colour, detail and form and take pleasure in thinking creatively and enjoy solving problems.
Consequently, art and design found me…or at least, I found a new and exciting confidence in my creativity, learnt through my own eventful experiences.
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

This artistic path is still new for me and choosing a favourite step so early would be tough. I would love to think the best is yet to come. My best piece of work to date is my children, the time and effort they demand is returned tenfold.

Rachel’s print is available here.

www.racheladamsdesigns.com

Q&A - Ross Martin

Tell us a bit about yourself

Ross Martin, im from Bristol but grown up in the Middle East (Bahrain & Dubai) my whole life.  I got into photography just over 3 years ago from what was a hobby and within a few months shortly after i started taking it to a professional level working with high end fashion and commercial photographers.

How do you go about creating your pieces? 

Seeing as i have grown up in the Middle East mostly my whole life a lot of my influences come from the surroundings around me.  The two pieces i submitted to you are photos that i took from what i have grown up being around, sand dunes  from road trips, camping and passing them on a daily bases to get around places.

What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?

There are two people that have influence me through my career of Photography and that is the two people i have worked alongside with since the start. 
Ali Sharaf - http://www.alisharaf.com/   & Jacqueline Kent - http://www.jacquelinekentphotography.com
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

To date some of my best work, i can’t really pin point pictures out.  As i say, i’m only as good as my last photo and that is some advertising photos i have been doing. 

Any current projects/shows/releases you want to advertise?

Currently i am just doing some college assignments which are fashion & advertising. I have a few pictures displayed on my facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/RossM.Photography

Ross’ prints are available here.

New Prints - Unknown #067 / #067 - Ross Martin

Available Here

New Print - Unknown #065 - Joe Scotch

Available Here

New Print - Unknown #064 - Rob Ormerod

Available Here

Q&A - Amanda Barr

Tell us a bit about yourself

My name is Amanda Barr, I originally studied for a degree in fine art at my home town of the Wirral 1997-2000. With limited access to computers during this time it was only afterwards and through a long process of self initiated learning, trial and error, help from any one who would answer a question, The Internet (my greatest learning tool and knowledge provider ever!) the magazine ‘Computer Arts’ (my inspiration) and more recently ‘blog sites’ which have a wealth of tutorial’s available that I began and able to continue to develop any skills in creating art digitally. So I guess my best teachers have been all the wonderful artists out there doing it and doing it beautifully! That and a student copy of Adobe CS2 ( my current software to date).

How do you go about creating your pieces? 

I use many different methods for creating artwork, a confessed visual junky no process is really out of bounds, it always starts with inspiration! Be it another artwork, something in nature, a person, anything really can trigger an idea, then in any order it is research, drawing and photography, bitmap creation, vectorisation  and finally collage to pull it all together. I use my original Adobe CS2 and to be honest I still don’t know the half of what the tools do, so I am a long way off needing a new package„ the only thing I want now is a Nikon d500 or 700 depending on my bank balance and that because I am really excited by the colour selector tool.

 What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?

Natural beauty what else?
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

When I was on my degree I created a piece called ‘Home and Away’, an orange glowing orange tent set it up in lots of different places, its best spot for me was my mum’s garden opposite her pond with a little bridge leading to its door, there it looked enchanted and even though I still have no idea what on earth I was trying to say and wouldn’t dream of repeating the very toxic process, I still love the picture created from it.

Any current projects/shows/releases you want to advertise?

Well, I run an environmental wedding stationery business called ‘Greenleaf Press’ www.greenleafpress.co.uk soon to be expanding to other stationery items in our Big Cartel store so watch this space I guess.

New Print - Unknown #061 - Tiago Santos

Thames Barrier

Thames Barrier is a combination between the brightness of human beings and the beauty of a moody sky during the very end of a cold winter in London.
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Produced: Unknownprints.com 
Artist: Tiago Santos
Title: Thames Barrier, Unknown #061
Orientation: Landscape
Category: Photography
Type: Fine Art Print, Unframed
Size: A5 to A1
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Available Here 

Q&A - Tom Radenz

Tell us a bit about yourself

Hey, I am Tom, an aspiring architect currently working London. Aside from architecture I also do freelance web- and graphic design on the side, whereas I have had a big passion and interest for photography for many years and have finally taken it up this year. Photography for me is all about capturing and / or creating a sense of beauty and spirit, be that through black and white portraits or colourful macro photography.

How do you go about creating your pieces? 

Most of my work is based around the projects I do at university, these briefs are aimed to expand our knowledge and creativity, allowing for independent work to continue on. I often lean towrads natural subject matter, preferring a colourful, abstract style. I don’t often use computer editing, but as and when required I use Photoshop. 

What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?
 
I have only just begun my photography journey, but so far I find most inspiration in shooting people, focussing on their emotions and facial expressions to tell their story and very much admire the work Platon Antoniou.
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

One of my favourite shots so far is of a young woman during the British Royal Wedding celebrations in Hyde Park, London. She had her face completely painted in a Union Jack Flag and in the large crowd of around 200.000 people I managed to capture only her face and with that her jubilant and joyful expression as she was cheering on the happy couple. The photo you can find her here.

Tom’s print is available here.

Q&A - Natasha Gush

Tell us a bit about yourself

I am a photography degree student, currently studying at the University of Gloucestershire. My interest in photography stemmed from a young age, with an interest in anything creative and art based. I first began studying photography at A Level, then continued onto college and university where I chose to study Fine Art Photography. 

How do you go about creating your pieces? 

Most of my work is based around the projects I do at university, these briefs are aimed to expand our knowledge and creativity, allowing for independent work to continue on. I often lean towrads natural subject matter, preferring a colourful, abstract style. I don’t often use computer editing, but as and when required I use Photoshop. 

What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?

I think my biggest influence would be my Father, he too is very creative, being a graphic designer. I often look to him for advice and suggestions when it comes to my photography. It’s good to get a second opinion, especially one you can trust. 
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

The most recent series I produce was a set of Macro images, displayed in a similar fashion to the image here. The images were based around a Natural Form project I had. The images focused on colours, textures and shape, using the diptyche to enhance ideas of contrast and juxtaposition.

Q&A - Bernie Jones

Tell us a bit about yourself

Hey, my name’s Bernie. I come form a small trashy town in Pennsylvania called Mars, where inspiration is perhaps the most abundant resource in all the world (JOKE!). I got into Photography a little over 6 years ago, when I went to Senegal, Africa. We had brought a little Point and Shoot along for the trip, and the setting provided many excellent opportunities to capture moments that I found absolutely stunning. My interest just snowballed from there.

How do you go about creating your pieces? 

I usually go about taking a photo by asking myself how I see the shot. I don’t just want to capture a moment, I want to capture how I see that moment. Get a better idea of how my mind works, become Bernie, if you will. Following the shot, I usually add a washed effect to my image, adding some cool colors to the shadows and warmer to the highlights. Sometimes I mix it up though.

 What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?

I’ve always had trouble communicating with others, not physically, but emotionally. I always feel like I have some sort of lock on my emotional expression. So I try to express myself through my work. I feel like when someone sees my image, they see me. And it will give them an idea as to who I really am as a person.
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

I’ve never been fond of picking a “best work”, as I’m always striving to improve upon my work. The moment I take something I really like, I end up taking something else that totally tops the last. I think that the moment you pick a favorite piece of yours is the moment that you don’t create anything at all.

Any current projects/shows/releases you want to advertise?

Not really. if you ever want to check out my other stuff, you can go over to my flickr photostream at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregorybernardjones/. I’ve got some stuff that ranges back to when I just started my hobby. 

Art Imitating Life

Q&A - Ivan Zovko

Tell us a bit about yourself

I am Ivan Zovko, currently located in UK, originally coming from a beautiful Mediterranean country of Croatia. Photography was my passion from early days, while really getting into it when I got my first DSLR 3 years ago. Capturing moment with the aim to see, at some point in the future, how the world that surrounded me looked like was an initial motivation for photography. But discovering possibilities of creating an artwork with the camera led me to completely different places.

 How do you go about creating your pieces? 

The photos I take which should represent an artwork, not mere a photographic record, are usually run through Adobe Photoshop software, just to give a little extra touch. In the same way a film roll has been put through different combinations of various amounts of chemicals to add a personalized touch to a photograph, I am trying to achieve that by different combinations of various amounts of software manipulation. I see no difference in the final product between click on the mouse and mixing chemicals.

 What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?

Trying to capture individual’s natural, unfiltered, human expression is my motivation for photography. On the other hand, framing landscapes’ perfect balance provides me with pleasure in photography.
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

Currently I am trying to create a set of images capturing a simple (and as similar as possible) frame of footpaths I made in different countries I’ve visited. The project that should be constantly updated is still in early phase of development, but as soon as there is enough images for an interesting display, it will be published.

Take a look at these great rugs over at stamprugs. They are skilfully hand woven from 100% New Zealand wool in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal.

The range incorporates a wide palette of colours bringing a regal air to any interior and are available with varying denominations of stamp. 

Q&A - Christopher Edwards

Tell us a bit about yourself

Hello, Christopher Edwards here though, everyone calls me Eddie. From Gloucester mostly however I currently live in Chorlton, Manchester. Studied Graphic Design at Staffordshire University, then after I did my post student slave labour time in London, moved to Manchester to remind myself what an open field looks like and to work freelance.

 How do you go about creating your pieces? 

This depends greatly on the piece. Pen and paper always are always a good start, some stuff I work on from photography, however everything always get finalised in Adobe Creative Suite. I have an image of what I want most of my illustrations to look like before I start. However with typographic and other design work, I just work through the research and idea development until something fits.

What single element, person, object or real life situation, do you think has influenced you the most throughout your artist career?

When I first read through a copy of “Pen & Mouse”. That was when I realised that there was this other side of art and design that I wanted to be a part of. Before that, I liked art, however never really regarded it as a real profession. Through digital illustration I learnt about the profession of graphic design and its possabilities.
 
What is your best piece of art to date?

Art work wise, a portrait illustration I did of my friend Laura. It is a very soft illustration and doesn’t look like anything else I’ve been drawing lately. Design wise, I’m really happy with the posters I produced for this years “Chorlton Big Green Festival”. I love the composition and colours of this years festivals, had a more approachable feel against the previous years promotional material.

Any current projects/shows/releases you want to advertise?

Sure, I’d like to mention my portfolio website at first where you can see this and other pieces I’ve been working on over the last two years. Contact details are also on there if there is anyone out there who is interested in collaborating or hireling me as a designer.

Secondly I’d like to promote two fantastic sites from some very talented friends of mine. Ntrprnrs Ldn (www.ntrprnrs.com) which is a fantastic design collective bassed in the UK & Dan Birkbeck of infinite potential (www.danbirkbeck.co.uk) who is one the best graffiti artist and illustrator I know and is working freelance from Manchester.