Featured Artist

Sam Ireland – Hampshire, UK
Instagram

Hi, I’m Sam.

So A little bit about me, I currently live in Hampshire, UK and love to draw/paint/make/do anything creative really. I was originally born in Faro, Portugal and moved to the Uk when I was around 5.

I have always had a fascination and love of art from as long as I can remember, I loved it at school and it was one of the few subjects I was really passionate about. After leaving school I went on to study further at the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design.

After taking a bit of time off for health reasons, I have recently got back into creating art more consistently and have found it to be extremely therapeutic! (cliche I know), and I’m now focused on further developing as a visual artist.

With my work, It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly influences me as I can grab inspiration from almost anything I see. I guess one of the strongest themes throughout my work is Mental health, in particular anxiety and depression and my experiences with it over the years. I find drawing to be a true escape for me and a way of releasing emotions and thoughts that spiral around in my mind.

Im also captivated by the human form, and people in general. I feel the human face and body give off such strong emotion that nothing else seems to match it. In my works I try to evoke emotion and mood through the use of strong lines, colour and text.

People often ask me what the meaning of my drawings are, and in particular they ask about the text. I try not to explain my drawings too much as, to be honest, I think it’s kind of boring to do so. I feel it’s much more interesting to leave the viewer to interpret the drawings in their own way and attach their own personal experiences and feelings on to them.

Basically, the ‘meaning’ of my work is whatever you want it to mean. I’m so grateful if you like my stuff, but in all honesty, It’s absolutely none of my business how it makes you feel. That’s personal to you.

I do however find it intriguing how my work can mean completely different things to different people. I’ve had someone see a piece as unsettling and sinister whereas another found it quite uplifting and happy (well, as happy as my work can be). I find these polar opposite feelings towards a single piece of work fascinating.

In regards to the words I use, they can come from anywhere really, from something that catches my ear on the street to a lyric that particularly resonates with me. Usually though, more often than not, they just stem from intrusive thoughts that enter my head.

I mostly work on small to medium sized pieces but it varies really depending on what kind of mood I’m in. I also prefer to work with a wide variety of materials. I find it way more exciting when I feel free to use whatever I want and I’m not just constrained to one particular medium. I’ll usually just rummage around and see what I can find to create the marks I want. At the moment though, I’m really into exploring ink and charcoal with watercolours.

And If I have any free time You can usually find me with a Bucket of coffee creating away, while Duncan (my little Jack Russell) sits in his bed watching me. Well, that’s a little bit of info about me and my work, I’m not too sure what else to say really.

To put it simply…I’m just a guy that likes drawing.

Thanks!

Sam