david sparshott interviews part III

for London based fashion designer Oliver Spencer

Hi Bev, Hope these are ok.

It's quite hard to answer what my daily inspirations are. I'd say on a day to day basis i'm a bit of a people watcher, i get a lot of ideas by just being out and about seeing different people and our social environment

I find the best way to get out of drawers block is to have a change or scenery and to do some observed drawing. It can get prett hard working on a brief in a studio so to actually get out and draw what's going on around you i find is a really good way to help with your creativity.

I use mainly hb and coloured pencil.

I use my computer for all of my work especially compositionally and cleaning up drawings.

My favourite project to date would be working with Umbro in Manchester, where i spent 3 days doing very large pencil drawings in their new head office.

I'm a big fan of pop artists such as Ed Ruscha and Peter Blake.

My advice would be to learn as many computer programs (i.e. Indesign, illustrator) even if you don't need to use them. They could come in real handy if you find yourself in need of any temporary work or design placements.