Hello all! We have a brand new inter"view" into what makes another one of our most popular artists tick! We hope you all got to know our first interviewee József Vass (jocokkk), from Romania! For our 2nd interview, it's been our great pleasure to get to learn about the nomadic artistic roots of the guy behind Vancouver Roots - meet our best selling artist Guy Browning!



Q: Could you please share a little background information with the audience?

Name: Guy Browning
Age: 24
Country: Spain, at the moment.
Occupation: Struggling Graphic Artist/Designer

Q: Do you think your Spanish background is reflected in your style? What defines a Spanish style?

Funny enough, I'm not even the slightest bit Spanish, besides the fact I've been living here for about a year. I'm British, but have never lived in the UK. I was actually born in Singapore and... ( place life story here) then ended up in Spain; kind of a Nomadic tale really.

To answer the question, I think bits and pieces of every place to which I've been exposed to, are instinctively, reflected in my style. Especially a place as beautiful and inspiring as Spain.

As for what defines a spanish style, personally I love the fact that nearly everywhere you travel there are the most stunning views and surroundings, architecture and cultures, people and ideas... Mix that with decrepit old ruins, tagged with some of the most breath-taking graffiti, and that to me, is a Spanish style. Everywhere from Barcelona to the middle of nowhere Benissa, the settings become a complimentary background for the art work.

Q: What characteristics define your style?

For the most part, I like to combine photography and digital manipulation with paint work and illustration. I absolutely love aesthetically pleasing grunginess because there is so much freedom to it. It doesn't matter if your paint splats, your ink drips, or if the paper crinkles and the color runs. It all adds to the energy and gives it an organic yet graphic style.

However I like to think my style evolves whenever I see something new and stimulating. Anything that sparks that intrigue and creativity, I try to take elements from and mingle them with my own style; so it changes over time.

Q: Do you have any favorites in the shop?

All the work in the shop is outstanding and I have a lot of favorites. When I first stumbled upon yayart, I was blown away with the quality of work everyone was producing. Its great to be a part of it.

These are some of the prints that I would love to hang on my walls:

A little thing, Ideas, Lost Memory, Tree of Life, and Typetree; although honestly, all the work is amazing.

Q: What are your main influences?

It's hard to pinpoint certain influences. I love everything from Banksy to Dali, M.C Escher to Ralph Steadman cracked walls and peeling paint, rolling mountains and gritty cities, Pop art to Street art, awkward moments to vivid memories, musical lyrics and instrumental tangents ... pretty much everything around me influences me in some way, shape or form.

I also think that, being lucky enough to move around a lot as a child, characteristics and cultures of each place, unintentionally influence my style and approach.

Q: How did you discover YayArt?

I think it my have been through a graphic design blog,that mentioned Yayart and the competition being held. So I took a little look and was amazed by all the quality work that was being created. I knew there was some serious talent and its great to be a part of it.

Q: Having the most popular art piece in the shop, why do you think it has become so popular?

To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I was pretty surprised myself. I think it may be because, even though it is inspired by Vancouver, its a design that represents "the city" in general. The splashes of colors and energy that are apparent in any urban setting.

Also, I personally think the colors and composition are quite inviting to any wall... I wanted to make it jump out; or it could be because of a tiny little thing called the Olympics? Or perhaps there are just loads of people who love Vancouver as much as I do. It is a pretty cool place.

Q: You have cashed out multiple times for the art pieces you have sold. What did you spend it on?

I think I spent most of it on wine, cheese and bread, and a bit of traveling with Ryanair.

Q: Are you working on any new wonderful art pieces we'll be seeing in the future?

Without a doubt. I'm always working on something new or revising old ideas, and I definitely think its about time to submit some new pieces to Yayart and see what you guys think.

Q: How are you liking being an artist for YayArt?

Its great being a part of such a talented community of artists. Everyone has great feedback and is very encouraging to all of the artists who submit their work. So cheers to everyone at Yayart and all the artists!



As for which artist is up next, please nominate one you'd like to see and I'll see what I can do :)