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With so much computer generated imagery around, it’s often refreshing to sit back and remember the techniques of ye olden days – the art form of putting pencil to paper. Mike Lowe is one such artist, so embraced in traditional techniques that he doesn’t even have a Facebook account and writes his status updates on a flag which he flies outside his bedroom window (OK that’s a lie, but his drawings are all hand drawn I promise).

Lowe recently found himself in a position that many creatives do – stuck to an uninspiring office job with dreams of something bigger and better – and he did something about it. His twenty-year detour has ended, and he has now found himself on the road that he has always dreamed of – committing himself to doing his artwork on a full-time basis.

A self confessed fantasy geek, Lowe’s drawings are beautiful, inspiring and take us to world’s unknown where good always triumphs (eventually) and the bad guys actually get their just deserves (even if they do always look cooler!).

Christmas Card Design. All Images Copyright Mike Lowe

Hello Mike. So what is your story?
Hi! I grew up in Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It’s tiny but very beautiful on the island and I had a really happy childhood there. When I finished school I went to university to study anthropology and mythology. Three years later I did what most graduates seem to do and ended up as an office temp until I couldn’t bear it any longer at which point I packed my bags and went to art school in Boston, Massachusetts. I lived in the U.S. for two years then came back home and…surprise surprise…became an office temp again. When I couldn’t bear it any longer the second time around, I packed my bags once more and moved to London. Unfortunately that seemed to be the plan of thousands of other creative people who were probably as equally unprepared for the cost of London living and I ended up with a desk job to pay the bills for the next handful of years. I was working for the British Transport Police for three years doing Human Resources then Work Force Planning, during which time I was getting the odd art commission here and there. It has taken me a while to gain the confidence in my own skills to actually commit myself to doing my artwork full-time but now that I have I feel like I’ve just ended a twenty year detour and now I’m back on the route my life should be on! All in all it’s a fairly plain story but there is no shame in that and it’s one I think maybe a lot of other people can relate to.

Why did you choose to study at The Art Institute of Boston and what was your experience there?
After a couple of years grinding (myself) away in the financial sector I realised that pursuing my art was the only thing that would make me content. I knew that I needed to go to art school to hone my skills and as I had become so frustrated with my life, I also knew I needed a big change and decided to combine the two and see if I could get into any art schools in America. I have no idea why I picked Boston – even now I sometimes wonder why there. I contacted a few art schools, arranged some interviews and ended up accepting an offer for a post-graduate place at The Art Institute of Boston. I have to say that the two years I lived in Boston were amazing. I loved the city and I had the pleasure of being taught by some really admirable artists and teachers. I believe the experience really developed both me and my art skills for the better.

Would recommend packing your bags and heading to the other side of the world to study?
Mainly yes but with a cautionary note! Studying was a great way to spend a good period of time in another country experiencing the culture where ordinarily visas are a real pain to get hold of. Personally it was definitely the right thing to do and it really taught me to be able to be self-reliant. The only down-side to studying in the U.S. was that when I got back to the U.K. I felt very out of touch with the art scene here. All of the contacts I’d made and advice I’d received about freelancing were focused in the U.S. and I didn’t know where to even begin when I was back home. It’s also important to note that the chocolate isn’t as nice there as in the U.K.

Most of your work is based around folklore and fantasy. Tell me some more about this.
Well I have to admit I’m a bit of a fantasy geek! Ever since I was a kid I’ve been obsessed with myths and legends and anything fantastical. I’ve always had a pretty over-active imagination and my family has always encouraged that. As a child my gran would make up stories where my brother and I were heroes in whatever land our current toy obsession was with (for the most part we were He-Man’s loyal sidekicks!). We always played fancy dress and I had a really creative upbringing always doing arts and crafts. I was a huge fan of The Moomins and remember being captivated by the dark spooky forests and creatures. Around the same time my mum introduced me to The Hobbit and that was the beginning of my obsession with all things fantasy. I’d spend my classes drawing all the characters in my school jotter. From there it just continued to develop and became a big part of who I am. I love it, I love the escapism and the magic. I’m not really sure what I even need to escape from – but sometimes I look at the world and it’s hard not to despair a bit. It’s good to escape somewhere for a while where good always triumphs (eventually) and the bad guys actually get their just deserves (even if they do always look cooler!).

Do you plan your pieces or are they quite spontaneous and sporadic? What is your process?
It’s a mixture of both to be honest. I normally have a really clear idea of what I want to draw or at least the key themes and feeling I want to convey…I usually only do a few rough sketches then think about those images and let them develop in my head getting a better feel of what I want to put on paper. I might do a few more sketches to resolve any issues but generally the next stage is going straight to the final piece. As I’m drawing the final piece I do tend to do a lot of thorough research though…details are really important to me. For example, If I’m drawing a forest scene I decide the time of year I want to set the piece then research what types of plants would be found there and would they be in flower or not. As I progress through the line-drawing stage it’s a fairly spontaneous process – generally I like to resolve issues as I meet them and I’m happy to let the picture develop at a tangent as I draw it or come across some research that takes me in a different direction.

What did you want to be when you were a child?
I always wanted to be an architect as a kid. Apparently this was because I wanted to make all the ugly buildings pretty. Ironically I find buildings one of the harder things to draw properly…which is probably why I like drawing trees and forests so much!

Do you listen to music whilst you work? If so, what are you listening to at the moment?
I almost always listen to music when I’m drawing. I try to pick music that matches the mood I want to convey with the piece I’m doing. For that reason, when I’m drawing or painting I quite often listen to soundtracks, I suppose because generally it’s quite emotive music. However, right now I’m listening to a mixture of mainly Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and Kate Bush.

Where do you feel most inspired?
I would have used to have said by the sea but I haven’t lived by the sea for a good few years now and I have come to learn that actually I can find inspiration in most places. I currently live in London and every day just walking about you can see so many things that spark the imagination. Wherever I am I can usually find something inspiring – a shape, a combination of colours, a texture, a passer by that looks like a werewolf…all sorts.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Artistically, the achievement that means the most to me has to be getting my first piece published. It was for The Guardian and was a portrait of D.H. Lawrence for the cover of their Review supplement. For most of the time I was doing the commission I thought it might have been a prank. It wasn’t until I went and bought a copy of the paper and saw it staring back at me that I really believed it!

D.H. Lawrence portrait for The Guardian

What are you working on at the moment? What is next for Mike?
Well I’ve recently quit my desk job with the Police to commit myself more fully to pursuing my illustration. It’s a really exciting period for me although I’m a little nervous too (okay…very nervous!). I now have the time to get cracking on a few personal projects that have been on the back burner which I’m looking forward and I’m also definitely on the look out for new opportunities, projects and collaborations.

www.mike-lowe.co.uk

All Images Copyright Mike Lowe

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