A massive welcome now to Jim Spencer, an exciting illustrator with a strong line and an awesome sense of style. Jim is one of those who goes down the path of most resistance, he is not a minimalist and certainly not one to embrace the simplicity of naive style, for Jim its raw mechanical skill and a forest's worth of pencils that are his method of attack. Jim creates an intensity that is just impossible to attain with a slim line working method and every line that goes into each one of these painstaking creations is descriptive. It's really refreshing to see this level of creative involvement in the process of construction, and this is why Jim can tackle the intense complex subjects he does. Revelling in the texture of expression and the destruction wrought on a boxer's face, these are subjects that cannot be treated with more respect by Jim, his firm yet rich observational style bringing the viewer in and sustaining their gaze with layered complexity. Jim is one who doing things the hard way has truly paid dividends and his style is easily hooked into mixed media and collage for maximum effect. An illustrator with bags of skill and an eagle eye for detail, it's Jim Spencer!
Who are you:
Jim Spencer, a London based lad with a paint brush for a hand.
What do you do:
I try to make images that hold the viewer's gaze, I have an obsession with detail and will quite contently paint or cut lino all day. I enjoy the process of creating my work and I would like to think this is apparent in the final outcome. Even if I'm not working to a deadline I'll probably still be making marks, where ever I am i'll be drawing or painting something. Wrinkles, big noses and interesting eyebrows are currently some of the things that interest me and make me want to draw.
How did you start:
I've always drawn and I've always been happy creating images, this is why I can't see what I do as work. I'm just having fun. I studied art and design at college for 2 years before heading off to Middlesex University to study Illustration, I've also completed a Life Drawing course and a Visual Communication Graphic Design course. My studies have definitely helped me develop my skills and have given me a good understanding on how the industry works.
A Personal statement about you or your work:
I try to steer clear of illustration trends in order to produce work that doesn't have an expiry date. I like to use traditional mediums like watercolour but my intention is to do something fresh with them i.e. painting portraits of smashed up boxers (you can see these on my blog). So basically, I'm a young creative person working with old techniques attempting to put together something new and interesting.
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