Off we go...

Some months ago I returned from the pub slightly the worse for wear. My sister in law was around keeping my wife company whilst I’d disappeared to watch the football. We’d moved house a few weeks previous and she paid me a compliment on a few bits of text art I’d done and hung up around the house. Truth be told, it was all ideas that I’d half inched from other sources and reproduced myself. I’m a Yorkshireman, and there for a tight b@stard by nature. I’m not in the habit of paying other people to do something I can do myself.

“You should sell them” she told me.

I’d been thinking about it for a while myself prior to her prompt. Us Two and You was born. I created a few templates for personalised artwork. Our Likes print and family print were the ones that sparked it all off and the influence for which was direct plagiarism of those attempting to crowbar fifty-odd pounds out of me for the same thing. I started creating bits of my own, stuff like the family tree and drinks equations and I also took ideas from elsewhere and added my own twist and personality to them. I became a web designer and set up the online shop and whored it out across forums and social networks and took it all to a few craft fairs. I was sceptical at first, this was after all, stuff people could buy elsewhere and whilst we sold a few, nothing that was ever going to sustain a young family.

I kind of decided at that point that whilst the personalised stuff and text art would probably provide a passive income stream, I wanted to dip my toe into the world of real art.

A problem arose at this point in the form of my total inability with a paint brush. Probably worth explaining at this point that I’d spent the previous 6 years of my life working in architecture, firstly as a technician and more recently as a 3D visualiser, so creating pretty pictures wasn’t totally alien to me but there were only really two medium available if I was to stick to what I know and they were pens and a computer. The only things I really had any experience at all of drawing were buildings. So I scuttled around the internet finding pictures of all the local landmarks. I printed them off and doodled them all on a piece of paper with some architectural drawing pens. I had initially planned on just producing them as black and white sketches but they looked a bit bland. I wanted to keep them as sketchy as possible so I wiped on a block of blue for the sky, green for the grass and trees and then yellow within the windows. An artistic style was born within a matter of seconds and with three clicks of a mouse.

From an initial position of scepticism I put it all out there and promoted it via the usual channels with some really good feedback rolling back in. Not just the type you get from friends and family through a forced smile. This was positive feedback from total strangers. 

As I type, across the region, there are around 50 pieces of my artwork adorning the walls of homes which I have never been in, nor have I ever met personally the occupiers. This fills me with a sense of pride in my work and given me with impetus to really have a crack at becoming a recognised and respected artist. 

I recently read an interview with one widely known artist who's work I hold in very high regard. When he was asked the question ‘what advice would you give to anyone thinking of becoming an artist?’ he replied ‘Stop scratching you arse’. So off we go on this little adventure. If it goes mamories skywards at least I can say I tried.

Here's a few snippets from first ever collection. Its called Toally Sheffield - a homage to the buildings which have a special place in the heart of the city. I do hope you like it, if you do, please let me know:

As of today, you can buy my work here: www.ustwoandyou.com or at The Nichols Building in Sheffield (details here: www.nicholsbuilding.co.uk)