30 Comments Add your own

• 1. mangalover  |  August 25th, 2008 at 5:24 pm

  cool stuff! are you full-time illustrator or do you have another job on the side?

• 2. Kien  |  August 25th, 2008 at 9:50 pm

  Hi Steve. I like your stuff. Have you tied you hand at other techniques? Gouche, watercolour etc? I’d love to see what you can come up with.

• 3. Steve Rack  |  August 26th, 2008 at 2:34 am

  Hi Mangalover.

  I’m glad you like my work. Thanks for commenting.

  In answer to your question; I do have another income until such a time that I can rely solely on my artwork. Balancing both can be a little tiring, but ultimately, I aim to work as an artist/illustrator on a full-time basis. It was only at the beginning of this year that I decided to take seriously a career in art, despite having graduated with an HND in Illustration several years ago.

  Thanks again for commenting.

• 4. Steve Rack  |  August 26th, 2008 at 2:44 am

  Hi Kien. Thanks for your comment.

  As well as working with coloured pencils and ink, I also use acrylic paint for larger pieces. I like to project character designs from my smaller illustrations on to large canvases. As a matter of fact, I currently have some acrylic works on exhibition at The Brick Lane Gallery in London. Some of my paintings are featured at www.steverack.com and at my Flickr page. There is a link to my Flickr page on my site.

  I haven’t really worked with Gouche (other than my college days). I might give it a try in the future. I haven’t really explored watercolours that much either. I like to use really vibrant colours, and I find that watercolours don’t really give off the desired effect. I much prefer thicker paints.

  Thanks for your question.

• 5. G  |  August 31st, 2008 at 9:19 pm

  r u pro or con grafitti on the street? is it art or is it vandalism?

• 6. Steve Rack  |  September 1st, 2008 at 5:01 am

  I am definitely pro street art. My favourite street artist at the moment is Belgium street artist, Bue. I think that if you’re going to paint the streets, you’ve got to make it something worth looking at. I don’t like offensive grafitti. I wouldn’t mind if someone like Bue painted some of the streets around where I live.

• 7. G  |  September 1st, 2008 at 8:43 pm

  like the way u think stevie! i make sure to check out bue! im a big banksy fan myself!

• 8. Steve Rack  |  September 3rd, 2008 at 1:33 am

  Yeah…Banksy’s work is cool. I live real near Bristol, which is where a lot of his street art can be found. I also spotted a few in London last week.

• 9. Steve Rack  |  September 3rd, 2008 at 1:35 am

  G,

  Here is a link to Bue’s MySpace:

  http://www.myspace.com/bueone

• 10. mecho team  |  September 3rd, 2008 at 9:27 pm

  Sounds like you are surrounded by art wherever you go, Steve! How did your exhibition go by the way?

• 11. Steve Rack  |  September 4th, 2008 at 7:29 am

  You should see my house. lol It’s full of my paintings stacked up in corners. I’m a collector of art as well, particularly designer toys. I find it inspiring to have art around. Yes. The group expo was cool. The opening night was great, though everything past 10pm was a bit of a blur. One of my next exhibitions (solo) will be in my home town. It will be my first time showcasing my work here in my hometown, so it should be good fun introducing the likes of SnuggleTuff and Maggy Bubble to the locals. The best thing about it is that my paintings won’t have to travel very far.

• 12. Eru  |  September 7th, 2008 at 8:55 am

  HI!! Steve. When do you realize you got talent to become an artist? And why you sound so happy?? jejeje

• 13. JJ  |  September 8th, 2008 at 6:02 am

  I love Snuggletuff! Where do you find your ideas?

• 14. Kev  |  September 8th, 2008 at 7:38 am

  are there deeper meaning behind your pics? They would make a good idea for a childrens tv series.

• 15. Steve Rack  |  September 8th, 2008 at 8:48 am

  HI Eru.

  It seems to be other people that determine an artist’s talent. I’ve just always enjoyed drawing and being creative. If other people like my work, well, then that’s great! I think that if you enjoy doing something like drawing, for instance, then you should keep on doing it. The more you do it the better you get, and if other people like your drawing, well, that’s just a bonus!

  “Why you sound so happy?”, you ask. I can see why you ask me that, as most of my artwork tends to be quite positive in appearance. I’m not happy all of the time, but I am pretty happy when I’m being creative.

  Thanks for your questions, Eru.

• 16. Steve Rack  |  September 8th, 2008 at 8:58 am

  Hi JJ.

  I’m glad you love Snuggletuff. I love him too, and that is most probably why he has a tendency to pop up quite frequently in most of my artwork. At the moment I am working on putting together a picture book all about him and his friends. I’ll be updating my site and snuggletuff.com with info on that.

  I find my ideas in lots of different places; while on a train journey, in a dentist’s waiting room, watching reality TV, listening to music…

  I take my little drawing pad practically everywhere, just in case I’m suddenly inspired.

  For me, the best way of developing ideas is by drawing lots of sketches. By doing so, eventually I will find something to work with. Over time my ideas tend to evolve. Snuggletuff started out as just a random sketch, as did all of my other characters.

  Thanks JJ.

• 17. Steve Rack  |  September 8th, 2008 at 9:13 am

  Hi Kev.

  Good question. Different people relate to art in different ways. With my characters I like to create art that is instantly relatable.

  It’s the best feeling when I see people genuinely smile as an instant reaction to my work. Genuine smiles are sometimes hard to come by.

  My artwork is about hope, happiness and self-discovery. Each piece of work has a story to tell, and sometimes I leave the story-telling to the viewer.

  I’m glad that you think that my ideas would make for a good children’s TV. I think Snuggletuff would be pretty cool in a cartoon. I think that he would get up to all sorts of adventures.

  Thanks for your question.

• 18. A Real Haphap  |  September 8th, 2008 at 9:49 am

  Who was your first fan?

• 19. Steve Rack  |  September 8th, 2008 at 10:39 am

  A Real Haphap. Love the name ;D

  My first fan? Good question. Friends & family not included, I would say that my first fan probably is Hannah, a girl on myspace that made the first comment on my MySpace blog. (I update my blog on a regular basis with new characters or art.) She continued to comment everyday on each character design as I uploaded them.

  Thanks haphap.

• 20. carlos  |  September 9th, 2008 at 11:51 am

  heya

  u talked about being influenced about Japanese pop art

  have u got some recommendations on good jap art websites?

  Cheers

• 21. Steve Rack  |  September 9th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

  Hi Carlos.

  Check out www.giantrobot.com. Giant Robot is a magazine that covers cool aspects of Asian and Asian-American pop culture. They feature loads of cool artists. I buy a copy every month. I think most book stores sell it, though they do also sell them mags at their sit also.

  www.takashimurakami.com is worth checking out too. If you haven’t heard of him, Takashi Murakami a very talented and successful Japanese contemporary artist.

  Also, I think you’ll find that the world of urban art & designer toys is also influenced by Japanese pop art/culture. Check out sites like www.cluttermagazine.com, www.vinylpulse.com and www.vinylabuse.com.

  If Manga is your thing, check out www.manga.co.uk.

  If I think of any more I’ll post them here.

  Cheers Carlos.

• 22. Steve Rack  |  September 9th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

  Apologies for the typos in my last comment. That is what happens when you try typing at 4am.

• 23. carlos  |  September 9th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

  Hey Steve

  thanks for the response

  the sites are awesome

  Cheers

• 24. Steve Rack  |  September 9th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

  Anytime.

• 25. sasha  |  September 11th, 2008 at 8:32 pm

  Hi Steve, in what countries can you art be found so far?

• 26. Steve Rack  |  September 12th, 2008 at 6:56 pm

  Hi Sasha. Thanks for the question.

  Other than art shows in the UK & Europe, my work can be accessed pretty much anywhere via the net. I’ve just recently had some work exhibited in Montpellier, France and London. I have some work currently on show in Falmouth, and I’ve a few more shows in the pipeline. There is a section on my site that is updated regularly; ‘News, Events & Buzz’.

  I’ll be with Fused Magazine at an art market in Birmingham at the end of this month. I’ve also got a bunch of original art available to buy via my site, www.steverack.com. I’m in the process of setting up a t-shirt shop via my site also (should be up by end October).

  I also have works that I aim to get published by next year. The aim is to distribute internationally. Also, it would be nice to get some exhibitions in other parts of the world (ie. Tokyo, USA).

  Cheers Sasha.

• 27. Sasha  |  September 14th, 2008 at 11:07 pm

  What a great idea setting up a t-shirt shop via your site. Kelly Love mentioned in her blog how huge online shopping is over there! Keep the good work up and good luck with everything! Sx

• 28. Steve Rack  |  September 15th, 2008 at 7:32 am

  Thanks Sasha.

• 29. the stepper  |  September 20th, 2008 at 7:27 pm

  a kick up the arse for my imagination, cheers steve rack, whoever you are

• 30. Steve Rack  |  September 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 am

  Anytime.

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