Matt Walford
Matt is a commercial Photographer Illustrator working out of a studio in England. Originally studying Editorial and Advertising Photography at the University of Gloucester where he received a 1st class BA Hons. Matt was always into manipulating photos he was at college where he used to experiment with scratching negatives and putting things straight onto the enlarger.
At University this love manipulation grew when he started to incorporate Photoshop, which he had been using since a young age as he also studied Graphic Design (in fact he almost became a Graphic Designer). he also started experimenting with putting things of a flatbed scanner, much like he used to do on an enlarger. he soon found that the possibilities of using all these technologies were boundless and found his own unique visual style.
Since leaving University in 2008 Matt has been honing his visual style and using it to create stunning work for editorial and commercial clients. His personal work is often an exploration into his own mind, showing his interests in Science, Surrealism and Nature. He has been described as a kind of Frankenstein as in all of his work he is deconstructing things in to their constituent elements and then re-building them into his own visions.
R. In your own words describe to us your own style of work?
MW. I would describe my style as quirky, maybe a bit surrealist. I really enjoy creating work that I feel is visually unique and exciting. I would also say that its in between photography and illustration, photographic illustration.
R. What does "being creative" mean to you?
MW. Being creative to me means so many things, predominately it would be the act of creating a new piece of work or coming up with new ideas how I can build upon my portfolio. But you can be creative in so many ways, I play music, listen to music, watch movies, read. All of these things have an influence on how I work as a creative.
R. What, if anything, do you consistently draw inspiration from?
MW. I find inspiration a lot from nature, this could be a certain flower or landscape I see that I think I can work into a new image, or I could discover a new technique that would inspire to create something new. fundamentally I would say that I find most things inspiring, and that these things stick in my head and manifest themselves as images at some point.
R. How much of your creative reconstruction, is a reflection of you?
MW. I think that looking into it, it all is. All of the work that I create is because I want to see that image. It is all based on things that I am really interested in of things that I think will look really cool as finished products. I think as artists that is what you have to do, make the work that you want to see, its then an added bonus if other people like what you are doing.
R. What came first for you, your desire to be an artist, or your knowledge of the materials your work with?
MW. I would say that my desire to be an artist came first, I have always been into drawing and painting but I was never really very good at it. I then discovered graphic design at college and studied Photography at university, it was the incorporating of these things together where I really fell in love.
MW. I would describe my style as quirky, maybe a bit surrealist. I really enjoy creating work that I feel is visually unique and exciting. I would also say that its in between photography and illustration, photographic illustration.
R. What does "being creative" mean to you?
MW. Being creative to me means so many things, predominately it would be the act of creating a new piece of work or coming up with new ideas how I can build upon my portfolio. But you can be creative in so many ways, I play music, listen to music, watch movies, read. All of these things have an influence on how I work as a creative.
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| Voyager Extraordinaire |
MW. I find inspiration a lot from nature, this could be a certain flower or landscape I see that I think I can work into a new image, or I could discover a new technique that would inspire to create something new. fundamentally I would say that I find most things inspiring, and that these things stick in my head and manifest themselves as images at some point.
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| The Botanist |
MW. I think that looking into it, it all is. All of the work that I create is because I want to see that image. It is all based on things that I am really interested in of things that I think will look really cool as finished products. I think as artists that is what you have to do, make the work that you want to see, its then an added bonus if other people like what you are doing.
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| The Time Machine |
MW. I would say that my desire to be an artist came first, I have always been into drawing and painting but I was never really very good at it. I then discovered graphic design at college and studied Photography at university, it was the incorporating of these things together where I really fell in love.
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| The first man in the moon |
MW. I find all art interesting but what I enjoy most is photography, illustration, painting, music, screen painting, I see a connection with all of these in the way in which people can express themselves that I really like.
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| Mr. Flamingo |
MW. To keep working on personal projects and gain more commercial work, I would love to exhibit more and it is my dream to one day completely illustrate a book.
Last but not Least…
R. What is your personal view in whats happening in the art world today?
MW. I think the Internet has allowed art to become a lot more accessible which can be a double edge sword. It's a lot easier to get your work out there these days but its also a lot harder to stand out from the crowd as there are so many people out there doing it. On the whole though there is some really great beautiful/interesting work out there at the moment, you just have to search harder to find it.
Contact Matt Walford
www.mattwalford.co.uk
Behance
www.behance.net/mattwalford
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