An Interview with Zac Rosso
“Sometimes I feel like an artist shark that can’t stop swimming. Making artwork is when I feel most at home with myself and it’s also my job, I’m just supposed to create!” -Zac Rosso
Hi Zac! What are you working on at the moment?
Currently I’m working on an illustration of York Minster. I’m about seven hours in and the detail of the building is mind boggling to replicate accurately, while staying true to my love of intense colour and slightly wobbly sense of perspective. There are so many existing depictions of York Minster, so I have some big shoes to fill! I’m determined for it to be a unique take.
What motivates you to create?
Personally I feel creating work is more of a routine habit at this stage than something that occurs by a burst of motivation. Sometimes I feel like an artist shark that can’t stop swimming. Making artwork is when I feel most at home with myself and it’s also my job, so I’m just supposed to create! Certainly capturing the perfect reference photo at a beautiful time of day or falling in love with a new area quickens the process of creating for me.
How has your style developed over time?
I’ve definitely refined the way I make pictures over time. What used to take 3-4 hours with watercolour and pencils now takes 15-25 hours labouring over an iPad screen with a stylus. I’m happy about this change though, I can see and detail so much more working digitally and my ability to suggest more of a story with made-up details has come a long way.
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
I was lucky to grow up in a house surrounded by big art books of Impressionist paintings, framed Kandinsky prints and as many crayons and pencils as I wanted. My mum is a professional glass artist and my sister was training as a graphic designer when I was a teenager, so I was always encouraged to be creative. Artists that did and do capture the world with an inviting vibrancy like Hockney or Monet or Morisot have always been important to me. I keep their print books in my studio to look through when I’m struggling halfway into a painting and need cheering up!
Is there a specific environment or material that's integral to your work?
I find listening to someone or something like an audiobook or podcast helps ground the part of my brain that’s otherwise looking for distraction when I work, especially in the age of TikTok and Instagram. Almost all my work is created using iPad procreate using brushes that replicate the look of colour pencils and overlaying watercolour paper textures to give the work a more organic appeal. This crossover between digital art that feels traditional is my favourite aesthetic.
What is a typical day like for you as an Artist?
As an artist running my practice as a small business predominantly selling prints, my day is heavy with packaging, printing, customer service, delivery trips to the post office or to shops stocking my work and admin. I work in a studio with two other illustrators so discussing what we’re making, communal coffee breaks and remembering to get some fresh air is a lovely way to spend our time together. Of course my favourite and most typical activity is hunched over my iPad with my headphones in. I sometimes call this goblin-mode.
Describe your ideal working environment.
I’m pretty fussy about my environment being equal parts cosy and beautiful where possible. Because I work on an iPad with a lit screen, I prefer ambient lighting (no big light please), a lot of cushions, plants, a large amount of coffee and if I’m being sensible, my phone on silent mode.
What has been your favourite piece to create so far, and why?
Very hard question! I like different work in different ways. My Otley Road and Cottage Road cinema paintings show where I live in Headingley so the joy of just stepping 30 ft from my doorstep and bringing that landscape home with me was so fulfilling.
Any top tips for getting inspired?
Art research trips and photography are the biggest catalyst for me putting pen to screen. Photographing the beam of sunlight against a busy cafe window or the symmetry of a building flipped in a puddle feels like a lifeline if I’m not sure what to create next.
Finally, if you could meet any other Artist past or present, who would it be and why?
After loads of trips to Salts Mill just to see David Hockney’s iPad paintings printed A0 on the top floor, I’d probably choose him! This was my first ever time seeing digital iPad paintings presented in a beautiful gallery as fine art on paper. He makes places look so welcoming and clean like a childhood memory of a landscape. The way his work kind of transcended physical materials and that he embraced digital at an old age makes me think we’d get on.
