Featured Artist Alasdair Roy

Artsy Shark is pleased to present the intricately drawn portfolio of featured artist Alasdair Roy. Enjoy his work and visit his website for more information.

 

 

I specialize in Cross Hatching using Pen & Ink. I believe it is an art form that although less prominent today has a huge history that has never left us. I gain inspiration from all things around me but most especially (and most recently as you can see by my portfolio) amazing feats of Architecture and Sports men and woman who have got to the top of their game. I like to think my work is very atmospheric and using the Cross Hatching Technique I create high contrasting images using shadows and tones.

 

 

I draw these sports men and women because the passion and commitment they have to reach the top of their game and be the best at what they do shows in every aspect. I try to focus solely on the person in my picture, not adding a background or any colour so the viewer can see what I am trying to capture.

 

 

The Colosseum is a project I randomly decided to do after researching the history and gaining inspiration from this. The Colosseum drawing was the first foray into drawing architecture and although probably my best gave me a lot of problems which I had to overcome, but essentially learnt from. Although its history is amazing and the building is a wonder to behold I realised that this building held no relation to me.

 

This made me open my eyes to what is around us every day. I had driven past Durham Cathedral many times and even seen it from the train thinking what a remarkable building it was. I decided to go and visit and gain more inspiration and motivation. After speaking to the marketing manager I was commissioned to create some drawings showing the columns and the rarely photographed inside of this impressive building. I wrote an article on what inspires me and how to gain your own inspiration, doing this was an eye opener for me and made me realise how much I miss every day.
YouTube
I have recently started time lapsing my drawings to show the world how I create this work from beginning to end, I love these videos and they provide me with the motivation I need to complete each drawing. With so many people asking how to use the cross hatching technique I created a cross hatching tutorial explaining how simple the process is with constant practice.

 

 

I am currently working on two drawings, the latest in my Durham Cathedral Series and a drawing of an old tractor. I generally work on more than one drawing at a time so that when I get my artists block I can just switch over to something totally different.

 

 

I have recently started my own business doing graphic design, illustration and fine art called Dark Design Graphics. My aim is to create a niche that nobody has filled whilst designing a recognisable brand with my unique work.