Zoë
Bringing life back into my art with a spontaneous single line.
I’ve been a commercial artist for years, which has led me to be very precise and methodical in my approach. I have become known for my “clean” and conceptual imagery, but I wanted to try and shake things up a bit. I made a conscious effort in 2021 to try and be “messy” and abstract with my art, but the results didn’t fit with my vision as an artist or appeal to my visual taste. So, how can I be messy and still keep the same level of execution that I have become known for?
I looked at my past creative approach and decided, this is where I can be more spontaneous and less methodical. I decided to grab the pencil tool in illustrator and just doodle with a single line without picking up the pen, no concept, no end goal, just a spontaneous line led by my 20+ years of experience. It was hard at first to just let go, but I started doodling, deleting, and starting over… again, and again. It was complete mental torture at first, since this isn't how I work... but after doing this hundreds of times, each new “variation” started to flow and I felt so free.
When I created a line I liked, I introduced that spontaneous line into my signature 3d “clean” style. The result of the very first test was an immediate emotional reaction. I created something driven purely by my instinct and my emotions and not a planned concept. It was something I haven't done my entire career and it had an incredible impact on how I viewed my own approach along with other artist's work. I can now see that sometimes it's more about the process than it is the final image.
About the collection name: ZOË is greek for "life"... not just the medical definition, but the act of living life. This is what I felt when creating these pieces, art full of life. Plus, the organic nature of the images and the process behind the art made this a perfect title. Each piece has it's own name. I didn't have a concept going into each doodle, but after they were created they took on their own visual identity, basically naming themselves.
I want to thank Rik Oostenbroek for inspiring me to try something new, and one day create my own "Arcus". Also a big shout out to Soldman Gachs and Art Pleb for their insight, directly and indirectly, on how to approach digital art from a collectors perspective. I am taking the 14 best pieces from this series and they will be available as NFTs on my own contract, thanks to the incredible team at Manifold along with some hand holding by Tibike! 🙏🏼
This is just the beginning for ZOË, I plan to push the process of spontaneous creation with different tools/techniques to continue the future of the ZOË collection.
iPhone Wallpapers
Owners can get there custom PFP to use for all their socials too!
Some of the single line explorations
Screen capture of the doodling process. I went with instinct and if it didn't "feel" right, I would delete it and start over. I did this hundreds of times and saved out the doodles that captured the emotions of the day.
