Vol.115_Brad Teodoruk
Brad Teodoruk
from Sydney, Australia
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Please introduce yourself to MAPS readers.
My name is Brad Teodoruk, I'm an artist based in Sydney, Australia.
When did you start painting? Do you remember the moment you decided to be an artist?
I've been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember. After I graduated high school in 2006 I applied to study painting at a fine arts college. I was accepted but chose to leave half way through the course to move to London. I was pursuing music also at the time and did so until 2014/2015 when I decided to go back to painting. I am now studying at The National Art School in Sydney where I will graduate in 2018. In my first year of art school I was approached by a gallery who offered to represent me which I agreed.
Could you describe your creative process? Do you sketch first?
I'm always drawing and making sketches for my paintings. I look to old books on sport or war as well as film noir posters to make drawings. Only recently has my work started to evolve as I explore abstraction so I'm not making so many studies for these paintings but rather using my imagination and playing with colour. It becomes much more expressive that way when I'm not referring to my sketches.
What kind of impact do you hope that your work has? Aside from the story you imply, is it enough that your art just be beautiful?
I want for my work to evoke emotion and get people to use their own imagination and think about things. I use bright bold colours to create feeling. These colours are often intense and playful. My aim is that the viewer can feel a sense of play but at the same time understand there is something else, something troubling beneath the surface. I consider myself a colourist and I very much use my colour as a juxtaposition for heavier themes especially if my resource is a world war 2 book. At the end of the day I am not trying to reinvent art or anything like that but I do want to create work that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Painting for me is simple a visual aesthetic to represent how I feel or what I think or what I want to see.
What makes you keep drawing?
I'm yet to decide whether or not drawing and painting is a form of therapy for me. I must create always. Whether it is drawing, painting, music, poetry or anything creative. I must and always have to express myself.
What do you think is the most important when you draw?
Observation is the key to any good drawing. To truly see and understand what it is you are looking at. When you become really decent at observational drawing then you can break all the rules and draw however you want but first we must learn the rules.
When does a work of art become important in your opinion? Do you need external confirmation, or is it something explicitly personal?
The artist Brett Whiteley once famously said "If it looks good, leave it. If it doesn’t, change it". I don’t need or rely on anyone else to tell me how to do what it is I'm doing. I do it the way I want to do it because it’s art and you can do whatever the fuck you want.
You have returned to art school recently. How do you think about art academia? Is there anything that sticks with you or you’ve thrown out a lot of advice of tutors as your practice has developed?
I think about the only thing art school can't teach you is art. But it can teach you about colour, drawing, observation and all the other technical side of things. I see a lot of my fellow art students get stuck because they are always trying to please the teachers.
How has moving to Sydney changed the way you approach your art?
Sydney has been a major major influence in my art. The basis for my work stems from graffiti removal. I see blocks of colour applied on walls where someone has graffitied to remove it but it doesnt quite match the previous colour that already exists. It's beautiful! Art is everywhere!
Do you spend time with other creatives?
Yes, I do but I mostly enjoy being alone. My girlfriend is a fashion stylist who has an exceptional eye for detail so she is usually the first person to see my work when it is completed. I have been offered to collaborate with a few artists but I haven't really been interested until now. Australian artist Jordy Kerwick and I are going to collaborate on two paintings this year which I'm really looking forward to.
Do you have any city that you want to live once?
After art school I want to move to London or Berlin. I think Europe is much more supportive of creative types. Australia is too obsessed with sport. Don’t get me wrong, it is very beautiful to live here and I do love it but I am also drawn to Europe.
You like travel. How do you describe your way of travel?
Travelling is one of the most important things someone can do. My last trip was by myself. I woke up one day and got in my car and just started driving. I drove for 3 weeks before I returned home. I mostly camped out under the stars and visited small towns. There were days where I didn’t speak to anyone. It was nice.
You’ve been showcasing your work via your website and instagram. How do you find the platforms help in putting your works out there? And what’s your attitude towards social media?
Instagram is one of the greatest platforms to grow a business. It's free! It's also a nice way to meet like minded people and a place to support one another. People think art as being a competition or something when in fact it is the opposite. I know a lot of painters who don’t share their work on social media and that’s cool too but I personally like sharing it if it can make someone feel good or positive. I don’t have time for anyone negative. I make work for myself and anyone who likes it.