In Conversation With Stewart Armstrong

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

I grew up in a little village by the seaside in England. After a long stint in London, I relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland. I’m a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, also working with animation and video.

Your work often explores the intersection of traditional art techniques and contemporary styles. How did you develop your unique artistic voice, and what influences shaped it?

I’ve been interested in art and design from a really young age. I’ve always drawn and painted and made stuff. I grew up loving the usual - comics, cartoons, films, computer games, TV and music. I was also obsessed with skateboarding and skateboard culture. The graphics, videos, magazines and clothing.

I actually don’t see my voice being especially unique. I feel more like I’m just playing around with, and riffing on an already established and growing visual language or feeling. I draw on my own cultural influences, and also from a million other creative people’s cultural influences that intersect with mine. I think we’re all dipping our spoons into the same soupy stew and coming up with new ways of expressing what it tastes like.

Social media, especially Instagram, has opened up how artists connect with audiences and brands. How has Instagram influenced your work, and what role has it played in opening up opportunities like this collaboration with I Love Ugly?

Instagram is sticky and sometimes I find attending to it exhausting, I have a complicated relationship with it. But I also find it incredibly useful for talking to other designers and brands around the world, picking up clients, having inspiring conversations, getting my work in front of people, and absorbing tons of inspiration. During the pandemic my work took a bit of a change of direction. I was able to focus more on just making and posting image-led stuff for fun, exploring the more arty side of my design practice and just saying “hi” to other people and brands who’s work I liked and that resonated with me. Connections and opportunities seemed to grow from there, including this one!

How do you see your art evolving in the future, and what new mediums or approaches would you like to explore?

I’m not entirely sure. Hopefully it’ll be a nice surprise! I’d like to get even more analogue and do some larger scale physical work, maybe some bigger paintings, I’d like to explore more moving image and video too.

What advice would you give to young artists who are trying to carve out their own path and bring their work into new spaces, like fashion?

Just keep making stuff and showing it to people. Whether that work is client led, or just for yourself. Chat to people and brands you like. Just say, “hi”. I think you can do this without being cynical. If you genuinely like something, that’ll come across, and even if it doesn’t necessarily lead directly to any work, the worst that can happen is they ignore you, or you just meet some nice folks and have a chat about things you both enjoy.

If you could spend a day collaborating with any artist, living or dead, who would it be, and what would you create together?

That’s a tough one. So many to choose from! Can I choose a writer? Stephen King! I’ve been a fan since I was really young. His books were some of the first I read and started a life-long love of horror and weirdness. It would be fun to make a mega-deluxe special edition of one of his classics, or one of his short story collections, with tons of illustrations and images inspired by the text.

What’s a typical day in the studio like for you? Do you have any rituals or routines that help you get into your creative flow?

Most weekdays are fairly similar, I think the time I spend outside of the studio influences what I do when I get there. I’m usually up and at ‘em early. I walk my dog to work. We head through the city and across a couple of parks. Sometimes we go on a little adventure before I start my day. I eat breakfast when I get to work, then usually put together something to share with the world on my socials. That always feels like a creative flexing of muscles.

My studio is in an arts complex called Summerhall. It’s an old veterinary school in central Edinburgh. Having a space and a community there helps me to get the creative juices flowing. I usually work until lunchtime, then take another walk with my dog before lunch. Having a fairly loose self-imposed structure that can be dropped on a whim feels both organised and freeing at the same time.

When you’re not creating art, how do you like to spend your time? Are there any hobbies or interests that influence your work in unexpected ways?

I like reading, skateboarding, watching films and TV, cooking, hanging out with friends, all of which feeds what I do. When I’m out walking my dog, I look for textures, shapes, marks, signs and symbols. I find the process of noticing and mentally recording, or taking photographs with my phone, when I’m outside in the city or countryside mindful, relaxing and really inspiring.