In the latest in our Gift Guide series, Duncan chats to John, the brain behind the Tangerine Art Company, about his pop inspired work and his plans for the future.
Please tell me a little about yourself and what you make.
I started The Tangerine Art Company about 18 months ago. Iโve been unfortunate to have been made redundant twice in recent years, due to the problems in high street retail, so I decided it was time to try and make a go of my art and design career. I studied fine art at university, so itโs something Iโve always had a passion for. My work is a mixture of digitally created art work and handmade painting and drawing. I like to describe my work as bold, colourful, expressionistic, pop art that engages both the fine artist and the inner geek.
My digital work is something Iโve been working on for the last couple of years and is very pop influenced. The pieces I do are the staple of the arts and craft fairs and comic conventions that have been my main outlet since I started. My paintings tend to be more abstract in nature and give me an outlet for a more expressionist style of work.
I put my work on a number of different items from badges, pens, keyrings to prints of various sizes, t-shirts and clocks.
Describe a favourite piece you have created.
The paintings I produced for the Culture Shops project last year are some of the favourite ones I have done. They were a group of abstract pieces based on images taken from the Illuminations, something I have re-visited a number of times recently.
From my digital work, my favourite piece is my reworking of The Wizard of Oz. It includes C-3PO as the Tin Man, Lion-O from the Thundercats, the Scarecrow from Batman Begins and K9 from Doctor Who as Toto. Itโs done in a colourful comic book style and has proved to be very popular. I like to include a bit of humour into some of my work.
What is different about your work?
I like to think I produce a wide range of work, in different mediums, that appeal to a broad audience. I think it’s quirky but accessible, with a sense of fun and humour. My digital comic book-based work goes down well with a younger audience, but I also do quite a lot of music-based images which appeal right across the board. And my fine art work gives me another audience again.
What are your best sellers this Christmas?
My A4 prints are probably my best seller. The aforementioned Oz print, my steampunk inspired version of Scooby Doo and a Marilyn Monroe print are probably my most popular images, although Iโve created a wide range of images which appeal across the board.
Where can our readers buy from you?
All my images are available to view on my Facebook page, which is a good place to get in touch if you have any commission ideas, and you can also order throughย www.thetangerineartcompany.co.
What are your plans for 2014?
Hopefully, Iโll be able to continue to expand the business with more fairs and more comic conventions. Iโd like to get involved in more community-based projects as well, and get more people involved in some of my projects.
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