DAMIAN GASCOIGNE- Stockporticus Talk

Damian is an Illustrator/graphic designer/animation director and lecturer who came to Stockport to give a talk about his work.

It was interesting hearing him speak because he appears to think in a similar way to me. He finds inspiration in absolutely anything, whether its a film, people in the street, or even disgarded litter that nobody else would give a second glance. He always has a camera or sketchbook with him as you never know when you are going to see something interesting or get inspiration.

He told us about how he likes working in a team and how effective it is for helping him come up with new ideas. He spoke about his students and how the mix of people he associates with helps him with his work, whether it is an idea that one of them has or even just the way they dress or a pose they pull.

Damian said that he is obsessed with posture, the way the body sits and the way it moves. His sketches of people in strained and odd positions are amazing, as he captures the tiny things that sometimes we overlook. He enjoys photographing everything, people in the street, people eatng a meal through a restaurant window, anything he sees that interests him. His observational drawing skills were very ipressive and instead of having a picture in his head about how people should look, he draws exactly what he sees which in some cases looks strange, even though it is in fact completely natural. The way the human body moves is extremely interesting when you actually look carefully. Most of Damian's sketches are quick and generally line drawings as he has to draw things quickly when he sees them and before they change.

Damian believes that you have to be obsessive to be an illustrator. He showed us his work 'The love books', in which he kept visual diaries for about 8 years, following his life, feelings, and the girls he was interested in. After completing all the books he put all the images together in a slideshow which flicked through very quickly, stopping on the images he felt were important. This was a really interesting piece of work as it gave us a look at not only the his way of working and ideas, but also a deeper look into the mind and heart of the artist. This is the kind of personal work you don't come across too often, so when you do it is very exciting.

This was a very enjoyable and informative lecture. Damian has taught me that I need to be more observant and passionate, and to keep my eyes and ears open consantly because inspiration, is everywhere.