Back in July we caught with up Zac Rossiter an extremely talented Leeds based illustrator and stockist of FLF almost since we began. We decided to grab a coffee and head over to Meanwood park the point of inspiration behind some of Zac's most popular prints and the nearest green space to our bricks and mortar.
1. How long have you been a professional illustrator for Zac?
Almost 3 years since graduating from Leeds arts university in 2020.
2. We love the use of primary colours within your work, how did you come up with this style
Being colourblind I often find that colours can appear a little bit dim so i am always trying to amp it up a bit and also i am really inspired by the art movement called Fauvism. Which is the idea that you take the colour that you think you see, or see a little bit of and you make it really bold.
4. A lot of your work features architectural drawings of locations How do you decide on what to do next?
I often get asked about commissions or when i am going to create a print of a particular location, but for me it's important to be quite familiar with an area before I draw it, its that connection which helps me to create and make it my own.
5. Your prints featuring Meanwood park have been some of the most popular pieces sold at FLF, what inspired you about Meanwood Park?
Whilst I was a student, I lived in this blocky accommodation on the outskirts of Leeds which felt like a concrete metropolis with no resemblance to the grassy area where I grew up in Lancashire. One day as a uni trip we came to Meanwood park and it felt like we left Leeds and I ended up coming back every day for a whole week with friends, it sort of became my safe haven, a reminder that I didn't live in a complete urban jungle.
6. Do you have any advice for someone wanting to sell their illustrations?
Creating a shop and handling postage and packaging isn't as a hard as you think, the hard part is figuring out how to turn it into a full time job and way of living. My advice is to start your business as a creative side hustle. I've also found that being an illustrator doesn't have to be as a officious as a job title. For me, I said I was so I am.
Click here to see Zac's collection of prints available at FLF.