Concrete Playground Meets Artist Josh Lancaster
We discuss with the Auckland artist the intricacies of what he'll be painting at the upcoming Tiger Streets of Singapore event on Sunday - a serving of Tom Yum Soup in a massive white and rusty old dinged-up tin dish he found at a second-hand shop in Hastings.
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Once a high flying ad-agency creative director clad in a suit, Josh Lancaster has since abandoned the office in favour of a studio, full time painting and whatever it is that artists wear (I'm thinking paint splattered denim overalls). He's an Auckland local and a grammar boy, whose love for New Zealand shows through strongly in all of his work.
We sat down with Josh to yarn about his switch from office life, to art life, the inspiration behind the awesome art he creates and his upcoming collaboration with Tiger Beer - providing original artwork for their final Streets of Singapore event at White and Wong's this Sunday, May 1.
For further inspiration from Tiger Beer and information on their Streets of Singapore events, click here.
First of all let me say you're a rather talented fellow – your paintings are bloody brilliant. For those who may not have heard of you before could you tell us a little about yourself?
Thanks Ben. Since I was a little fella I've always loved drawing, painting and just making stuff. This eventually led me to design school in Wellington and then 18 years in advertising as a creative. I always thought I'd start painting properly once I was all rich and famous and had the time. However that seemed to be taking a while so a few years back I decided to just make the time and get into it. It sort of took off on me and last year I said see ya to advertising life to paint full-time. When I'm not making a mess of the floor in the studio I am usually hanging out with my beautiful boys Lennox, Archie and Spike – making these 3 little men proud of their Dad and what he does is what drives me.
Your style of painting is really unique. Have you always painted like this or did you progress and develop your own style?
Since about 5th form I think I've probably painted or drawn in the same sort of style. It's just the way that I see stuff, or imagine stuff. Certainly influenced by the stuff I was into growing up, Whizzer and Chips, Mad magazine and The Simpsons. All cases of telling a visual story as simply as possible. Advertising scamps (the marker drawings of concepts the client is shown) work in a similar way.
It's about capturing the essence of an idea as quickly and simply as possible.
The work of Dick Frizzell, Rita Angus, and Don Binney, have all probably fed into it somewhere along the way too.
Congratulations on the transition of becoming a full-time artist. What was your biggest challenge switching from a salary job to painting for a living?
You mean apart from now having to buy my own lunch? There's certainly a difference between what a Creative Director earns and what someone painting pictures for a living makes so there's had to be a few lifestyle tweaks here and there! Selling up in Auckland and moving somewhere less mortgagey (sic), having to learn how to use accounting software and the general butt-clenchiness of not knowing how much money is coming in each month (if any!) are a few of them. The hardest thing for me though was not so much a financial one but adjusting to working in isolation each day. I miss my advertising agency mates a lot. The solitude of the studio is a huge contrast to the stimulation you get in spades from being part of a team filled with really funny, interesting, clever people. When I turn up to work in the morning now it's just me!
Your work is very Kiwi, heaps of iconic landmarks and places most New Zealanders recognize. How important is NZ in inspiring and shaping your art?
It's very important. I love this place we call home, and I am drawn to all the familiar bits that are iconic but on a personal level. It's not the Sky Tower or the Harbour Bridge or the Beehive but our local dairies, student flats, beaches, parks, baches, takeaway joints… the real places that make up our concept of home and we identify as being 'ours'. The best ones are the ones that trigger memories and spark the sharing of stories with others – they connect us as Kiwis through our collective experience there.
You're creating art – live at Tiger Beer's final Streets of Singapore event at White and Wong's this Sunday. What can we expect from that and what will inspire your piece?
I'm recreating a dish that will be dear and familiar to many, but at a scale previously unseen! I'm going to paint a serving of Tom Yum Soup but super-sized onto a massive white and rusty old dinged-up tin dish I found at a second-hand shop in Hastings (of course). I like the idea of painting something plated and beautiful rather than just snapped on the iPhone and uploaded to Instagram.
Finally before I let you go – Streets of Singapore at White and Wong's is all about bringing a taste of Asia to Auckland – do you have a favourite spot in Auckland for the best Asian food?
I'm a fried dumpling man and recently I've been hitting up a little Chinese place at the bottom of Khyber Pass which does 10 beautiful pan fried dumplings and a glass of coke for $5.90… even comes with a straw and bit of lemon!
For more of Josh Lancaster's work, head to his Facebook page.
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