Artist Spotlight- Aaron Pocock

Aaron’s Art

I first saw Aaron’s art when he joined my Australian Fantasy Artists website, but I really started to notice it when I saw some of his sketches at Sketch Fest, and posts of his art on his facebook account. Aaron has an enviable level of creativity and prolificity in his art. What struck me most about his work is the pure whimsy each image captures. Whether it’s a fairy tale image or a more symbolic or pure fantasy artwork, they all evoke an almost tangible sense of magic. While Aaron’s use of colour is spectacular, his pencil sketches and ink line works are often just as powerful. I just love how he draws women as well. Sensual, innocent, and such pretty faces! Aaron uses a range of different mediums for his artworks, and his technique and style is so consistent across mediums that even I often can’t tell which are traditionally painted and which are digital.

Above are a small range of examples, but be sure to visit the links at the bottom of this post to see more.

An Interview with Aaron

What themes/subjects do you enjoy painting the most?

No easy answer to that one… I’m inspired by almost anything, However, I’ve tried over the years to narrow my range down a bit though… I love to draw and paint more gentle fantasy subjetcs. For me, there’s far too much hard-edged, gritty stuff already out there in the world, I like to think I add a touch of whimsy and more ‘what if’ than ‘how many ways can I draw someone being shot or maimed’ (laughs). Trees… I adore trees, they feature quite heavily in my art.

What do you want a viewer to feel or think when viewing your art?

I’d love the viewer to have an emotional reaction that either a) wakes something inside of them, a childhood memory perhaps, or a peak experience they’d forgotten about, maybe realise the world’s not such a bad place, there’s so much beauty and inspiration all around us, I’ve been told on numerous occasions that when people look at my work, they’re reminded of books and things from their youth, that’s a good thing in my opinion… It’s one thing to be future focused, but some of us are here to nod their heads back to the past and remind peole that there are treasures there to be dug up and dusted off also.

What do you love about being an artist? And/or what is most difficult?

I guess I love the freedom to use what goes on inside my mind and give it life the most, it sounds rather pretentious I’m sure, but as an artist, I get to create, and get paid for it too… I have a constant barrage of ideas and things that sometimes scream for my attention which is both a blessing and a curse… The most difficult thing? That’s a hard one… there are many things I find hard… 1) The business side of things, some people have that side down pat, I’m very much a novice in that area, 2) Having to turn the creative tap off and get back to the real world, that’s a hard one… you know, working on something that’s so totally consuming and guy from the solar panel company turns up and needs info, has to turn the electricity off or whatever… There’s not really any one thing that I find difficult, I’m a moody artist and can deal with things some days that I can’t on other days.

In what ways do you share your art?

I’m quite well-versed with both the fine art and publishing worlds so I’m happy to offer private commissions, I illustrate books in most genres, from line art to cover art, editorial illustrations, I’ve provided tutorials and demos for magazines and have some bits and pieces on youtube also. I have prints available on my website and am happy to tailor-make prints from my images that people may have seen and liked.

Quick Five Questions

1. Which would you pick- fame, money, happiness, or easy inspiration? Happiness for sure.

2. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being symbolic/meaningful and 10 being purely aesthetic, where would you rank your work? 4

3. Hours spent on your last painting? 12

4. How many paintings (approx.) a year? Paintings- Maybe 80?, I make at least three drawings a day also.

5. Artist stereotypes, Yes or No- Cat owner? Tea Addict? Recluse? Eccentric? Oh yes, I fit (rather snugly) into the recluse, coffee-drinking, eccentric moody artist mould.

You can find Aaron online at-

Official website: www.pocockillustration.com

Blog: http://aaronpocock.wordpress.com

Deviantart page: http://aaronpocock.deviantart.com