Artospective: Urban Pop Portraits by Adam Craemer from Australia.

Imogen

An Interview with Adam Craemer.

Who and where are you from?

My name is Adam Craemer. I am a South African born artist based in Perth, Australia.

What made you become an artist? Could you tell me more about your background?

I completed a year of graphic design in South Africa after leaving high school where I also studied art and textile designs. This was down to both my parents being artists and my older brother studying art, so I guess it was a natural progression for me to do the same/copy my older brother.

I then left South Africa to travel around Europe and the UK where I stopped doing art altogether for various reasons, but still had an appreciation for artworks of all formats, going to exhibitions, galleries and checking out street art whenever I could.

Then I moved to Australia and fell back into art again, helped by a firm push from friends and my partner as well as a need for some alone time / reflection time. I sold one or two pieces for next to nothing to some friends, and then suddenly I was being asked by more and more people for work. I went from just doing art again for me, to doing pieces as a form additional income.

Could you tell us about your technique and the type of work you create?

I start with the backgrounds for my work where I build up layers of media, and then strip back elements of media. I do this multiple times until I am happy with the work or have learnt a new technique that I am incorporating on the piece. Then I’ll place the portrait onto the piece using hand painting, stencil, transfer, collage techniques. The feel of the piece or look I want to achieve will drive what technique/s I’ll use on it.

How would you describe your work today?

My older work would be described as street art with some pop art elements, but I would say my newer stuff for a series of work I am currently working on will be a bit more urban/grunge.

What/who influenced you artistically?

My influences for my portrait art come from the Graffiti art in Cape Town South Africa, UK and Asia. Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Hush, Banksy, Byroglyphics, C215, David Bromley are all major influences on my style.

Do you like to take on commission work, or mainly paint what you like/feel at the time?

I traditionally enjoy painting what I feel like and I have been lucky enough to sell a fair few pieces to various collectors in my short time in Australia while painting in that way. I do like to be in my own world in my studio with no one around when I paint. I find it is when I am at my most comfortable and creative. In particular when I am doing Abstracts, I feel it is true ‘letting go’ painting for me. Even if the piece doesn’t come off the way I’d initially imagined, I get to just play with colour and texture, I love that.

But obviously if a commission/s came along that I felt I could meet the brief on, I would go for it. I have had a few commissions recently for Abstract, as well as Portrait style pieces which is good for my art as it does challenge both sides of my style; the two are pretty much polar opposites in terms of style. I really enjoy sitting down with someone and discussing what their take is on the piece or pieces that they’re after. The colours they prefer, the room type and makeup of the space their art will hang in. When doing a commission I want the buyer to get as much fun and involvement out of the experience as I am.

When and how did you first fall in love with art?

Both my parents are artists in South Africa, so I have been around art and all that paraphernalia for most of my life. I guess the whole “it’s in your blood” theme applies. My father was always playing with new media and techniques, and my mother’s studio was a fun zone of oil paints; brushes of all shapes and sizes; and canvas boards.

What materials do you use & why?

Materials I use range from a combination of painting, aerosol, screen printing, glue, paper shredding, ink, marker pens, stencils, plaster, and epoxy resin.