mcville: Stewart Greenway Interview

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Stewart Greenway Interview

Nov 24, 07:41 PM by Marko

Interview with Stewart Greenway at newplasticarts.co.uk

Marko: heya Stewart !
Stewart: Hiya, Marko!

Marko: For our reader’s could you tell something about yourself? (year old and
other stuff)
Stewart: I’m 33 and living in the South East of England.

Marko: How are you doing these days?
Stewart: I’m doing ok. Generally, I’m kept busy trying to juggle work with
pleasure and trying hard to make the two join somewhere in the middle.
I have a number of personal projects that I’d really like to dedicate
some thinking (and production) time to, so there’s always something at
the back of my mind nagging to be done.

Marko: When did you first encounter a keyboard or computer?
Stewart: First encounter with a computer was probably my Sinclair 48K Spectrum
back in the ‘80s. Rubber keys. Cheeky.

Marko: What is your favorite art work / website!?
Stewart: Any of the large-scale abstracts by Rothko appeal to me, particularly
those of the Seagram Murals series. Also, Cy Twombly’s Quattro
Staggioni pushes my buttons too. But my favourite would probably have
to be Ellsworth Kelly’s ‘La Combe’. It’s a less painterly piece than
the others, but I love the way the outcome was largely dictated by a
process rather than the artist contemplating each brush stroke. It’s a
very honest piece. Very simple, very ‘graph’ical. Kelly recorded the
formation of shadows cast upon a step at certain intervals and
translated that information into a painting.
Seeing La Combe at the Tate Modern some years ago was my very first
encounter with Kelly’s work and it nailed me to the spot. It gelled
with aspirations I had for my own output. A simple idea made into a
compelling, thought-provoking image.
Rothko’s colour field abstracts appeal to me in a fittingly abstracted
way. They resonate. Twombly’s piece to some degree appeal to me for
their abstracted take on things. It’s very loose, very graphic, but
still very expressive. There are graphic elements in there which
appeals to me as someone who aspires to work in the cross-over between
the graphic language and art.

Marko: when you launched newplasticarts.co.uk are you happy with the result of
the site?
Stewart: I was happy at the time. It was my first serious attempt at using XHTML
and CSS layout and at the time I thought I’d done a fairly good job of
it.
I’m now tired of the design, so I’ve got a couple of design ideas I’m
toying with for the redesign.
The NPA site was put together as a more formal site for work, but I’m
no longer sure if that’s how/where I want to be, so the redesign is
likely to be less straight-laced. Not ‘wacky’, just a bit more relaxed.

Marko: What do you do in your spare time (I do realize that spare time, in
this context, is pretty relative)?
Stewart: I paint (surprise, surprise). I’ve done a few commissions and have sold
a few self-initiated pieces. I have a number of ideas for paintings as
well as other arty ideas I’d like to bring to fruition. I’m also
currently trying to reintroduce myself to illustration. I’ve feel I’ve
lost my way a bit with my output and I’d like to rediscover the kind of
visual work that gave me the most enjoyment in the past.

Marko: Do you have a favorite drink? How much of it do you drink?
Stewart: A decent, full-bodied red wine will do me if you’re offering.
Coffee or water most other times.

Marko: Would you care to give us a brief overview of what a typical day is
like for Stewart Greenway?
Stewart: Watch a bit of early morning news over breakfast. Walk dog. Pour a pot
of coffee and flick on the machine when I get back. Sort some emails.
Work on whatever needs my attention the most. Catch up on a few
websites to see what’s new. Pens down around 5-6pm.

Marko: I am always wondering how people such as yourself go about getting
work? How do you do it?
Stewart: I’m crap at marketing myself. I truly am. Most of the work I do is
subbing for other design companies. That suits me better as it means
I’m dealing with people who understand design.
I also keep my eyes out for ads requesting freelancers and if the
projects look interesting I’ll respond. Sometimes that produces
results, sometimes it doesn’t.
The NPA site brings in a steady trickle of projects too.

Marko: Who are some of your biggest influences?
Stewart: At the moment I’m really being drawn to illustration (no pun intended).
I’m aching to introduce some more organic, hand-rendered work back into
my ouput, so I find myself gravitating towards hand-drawn imagery and
away from overtly digitised, vector work. Inky, rather than ‘grungey’.
I still very like visuals which are minimal and those which use a
reduced colour palette. I find strong 2-colour work particularly
inspiring.

Marko: Is your background in design? What was the progression into web
development and design like? How did that take place and why?
Stewart: I can’t really say when design first lodged itself in my psyche, but
there was a long spell where I didn’t follow up on it as anything more
than a hobby. I took the plunge and returned to college to see where my
interest in design took me. I spent some years going through various
courses, the last of which was a Masters Degree which gave me my first
real opportunity to explore the common ground between the conceptual
intentions of fine art and the pragmatic sense of communication of
design.
It’s still a combination that I’m interested in working with.
My interest in web design basically grew out of the simple desire to
have my own online portfolio. Using a series of redesigns as a means to
learn about web development, I gradually became more proficient at it.
Web design still only accounts for a fraction of my output, but the web
still appeals to me for the fact that it’s such an easy medium on which
to publish visual designs.
I’ve also found that the coding aspect of web design/development also
appeals to the geeky side of me and balances well with my more openly
creative interests. Being primarily a visual person, I didn’t expect
that to be the case, particularly as I used to dislike that aspect of
it.

Marko: If you where not a designer/programmer what would you be?
Stewart: I’d like to think I wouldn’t starve as a painter. It would almost
certainly be something within the area of arts, possibly something to
do with a gallery; if not showing, then perhaps curating. I’m actually
phasing out design work a little, so I can give time to my other
interests.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve also got some personal projects that I’d
like to put time into, some of which could possibly become serious
opportunities. I’d still probably do design as a hobby and for personal
projects. I think it’s something I’ll always want to do in some way.

Marko: How do you like our site mcville.net?
Stewart: It looks promising. Imho, it could do with some organising. You’re
racking up the interviews and that’s clearly the principle content of
the site, so maybe the site could be conceptually built around a
resource of interviews. With that in mind, the name could probably do
with a rethink to establish a greater connection with the content.
I like the idea of a site based primarily on interviews with design
folk of all levels, though.

Marko: O it’s really that bad? :)
Stewart: Nah, it just needs to be refocussed, in my opinion. ;)

Marko: What kind of music do you fancy?
Stewart: Bit of a broad range, but mostly instrumental stuff. I like fusions;
electronic with touches of acoustic, post-rock with touches of jazz,
abstract minimal with touches of folk. Or even modern classical with
touches of post-rock, electronic and abstract (e.g. ‘Systems/Layers’ by
Rachels. A great album. Well worth checking).

Marko: What’s your favorite food?
Stewart: A good pasta Carbonara, eggs Benedict or a proper Sunday roast.

Marko: Where do you get out on Saturdays?
Stewart: The usual; meet up for drinks and/or food – depending on how knackering
the preceding week has been or how busy the coming week is expected to
be.

some relaxing question to follow

Marko: Chinese or Thai (food)?
Stewart: Thai

Marko: Coke or Pepsi?
Stewart: (Diet) Coke

Marko: html or css?
Stewart: XHTML and CSS, naturally. ;)

Marko: Do you watch television? If so, do you have a favorite show?
Stewart: I don’t actually watch that much tv, but ‘Lost’ is probably the closest
thing I currently have to regular viewing – though I’ll probably
remember something I like much more as soon as I send these answers
back to you.

Marko: What would we find in your favorites bookmarks-bar?
Stewart: A bloody mess.

Marko: What inspires you? This doesn’t have to be design related.
Stewart: A pristine, empty sketchbook waiting to be written or drawn in.

Marko: Thank again for having this interview, cya m8!
Stewart: My pleasure.

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Stewart Greenway Interview

Nov 24, 07:41 PM by Marko