Kateryna Gorbenko on finding your own hook

"Being able to physically feel your own work is incomparable with a picture on a screen." 

Interview

Kateryna Gorbenko on finding your own hook

Interview by Patrick Morgan

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When did you first get into drawing?

As far as I can remember myself, I was drawing anytime and everywhere. While I was still a kid, I never considered it to be an important part of my life until the moment when I started hearing some feedback from my friends and classmates. After I reflected on this topic a bit later, I realised that actually a lot of my family members had really good drawing skills but again, nobody ever took it seriously, and so did I until a certain moment.



Why did you choose to make fashion part of your inspiration?

To me, fashion is one of the countless mediums that allows to escape reality for a bit, it's an instrument that helps visualise the wildest ideas. When I attended an art school in my teenage years, fashion illustration did not even exist as one of the possible subjects there. That mostly has to do with a pretty conservative education system in Ukraine, where teaching methods and topics are often outdated. The focus was mainly on academic drawing skills, landscape drawings and monochromic figures illustrative techniques. I think this whole post-soviet arts system was mostly putting me in line with other students rather than facilitating the development of my individuality. At some point, when I discovered other illustrators' works and tried my hand at it, fashion illustration really became my personal outlet, giving me endless possibilities to express myself and experiment with different techniques without being constrained by strict academic rules.

What is your particular working day as a creative?

I work in waves and pretty fast. I don’t need much time to create an illustration or a painting, the majority of my creative time is actually spent on preparation, thinking and searching for ideas. Lately I've been trying to distance myself from other people’s ideas or references and prefer to listen to my inner voice instead. Sometimes I might be putting my work on a pause thinking that I should’ve done the illustration completely differently but it could also be the opposite - if I’m happy with my initial ideas, I’m far more confident and notice that those works are much better technically. I am very self-critical and question my own works pretty often but I think it’s one of the things that helps me to move forward and develop my skills.

What tools do you use when creating your images?

I’m pretty old-fashioned when choosing my materials and mediums for an illustration. Most of the time I use paper and pencils. Few months ago after almost a 5 years break I picked up on acrylic paint experimenting again. Initially it felt pretty unusual to transfer my style onto canvas but after some 4-5 paintings I realised that those works actually look more holistic and complete. I think this is an invaluable experience on my way to developing my own style even further and taking my technique to a next level. When it comes to commercial projects I mostly work in digital formats though. For me, digital drawings have a completely different perception and presentation. Obviously, new technologies make a lot of things much easier which is a love–hate relationship for me though. I appreciate the convenience of it, nevertheless, I’m much more drawn to manual work. The moment when you can physically feel your own work is incomparable with a picture on a screen.


Who are what has influenced you over the years as an artist?

I follow quite a lot of popular contemporary artists but nothing inspires me as much as the art of the old masters, I can spend hours contemplating the paintings of Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Albrecht Dürer or Pieter Bruegel. Besides that, there was always a special place in my heart for the works of Francis Bacon, Jean Michel Basquiat, Ilya Kabakov, Yves Klein. I love caricature sketches by Saul Steinberg and incredibly realistic fashion illustrations from George Stavrinos, portraits by Mel Odom and of course Grace Coddington’s cats are my biggest love.

What advice do you have for younger artists looking to be part of this industry?

In my opinion, the biggest challenge for beginning fashion illustrators is development of their signature style. Concentrate on what you like the most, find your theme, a technique you feel confident with and develop your own intellectual hook. A lot of people know how to draw, creating a genuinely memorable art is something completely different, though. To quote 1Granary, “Sure, sex is great, but have you ever been called talented?” This is a pretty elaborate process of establishing yourself as an artist but you need to find an answer to the question of what you find interesting and what you are trying to tell with your works. Enjoy what you do and draw as often as you can, even if only a small everyday sketch to fight the laziness. Work hard and don’t stop believing.

What are you drawing today?

Music are you listening to? Books that your are reading? Favourite artist/designer at the moment? Today I will completely immerse myself in an illustration full of elusive lines and figures that will eventually take on their meaning and shape. Music: Geneva Jacuzzi - Do I Sad? Book: David Graeber - The Utopia of Rules. On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy Artist: Aks Misyuta Designers: Lucie and Luke Meier

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