Another of the designers who entered the LTLPrints 2009 Design Competition was John Stires.
We talked to John about his work, his inspiration and his experience designing for Larger Than Life prints. Here is what he had to say -
Tell us something about yourself -
My name is John Stires. I am 32 years old and live in New York City. I grew up in Glendale, CA and moved to Santa Barbara in 1994 where I attended UCSB as a biology major with an English minor. In 1999 I made a big move across the country to NYC and have lived here ever since. As much as my parents hate to hear it, I am an east coaster at heart, and I have fallen in love with the inspiration and pace of NYC.
I discovered aquariums and fish in grade school when I won a goldfish at a local carnival. I named him Fred and kept him in a bowl for years until I got a larger tank. I got my first saltwater aquarium when I was a sophomore in high school and pretty much trial-and-errored my way to success. When I moved to NYC I rediscovered aquariums and began learning everything all over again with the plethora of information from other hobbyists around the world. Since then I have been able to keep very happy and healthy fish, corals and anemones.
As for art, I should have been an art major, but for some odd reason I thought going down that path was silly. So I struggled through my Biology major at college while acing my English and art classes. If it wasn’t for the arts I’m not sure I would have graduated with a decent GPA. Ever since I can remember, I have always dabbled in some form of art. It wasn’t until recently that I decided to combine my love of the ocean with art and to try to build a body of work around that passion. I still have a lot to learn, but I really enjoy creating colorful paintings of the fascinating creatures that live in the great blue.
What is your general inspiration when you create?
Much of my inspiration comes from a large aquarium that I have in my studio. When I choose a subject to paint I try to hone in on the unique personalities and behaviors of the fish. My aquarium provides me with constant stimulation while I am at home; I’m always observing the fun things that go on in there. I also find a lot of inspiration from the multitude of information on the Internet. I have learned a lot about certain fish, corals and anemones from other people’s experiences. With those stories I am able to create the proper compositions and situations for my work.
Why LTL prints? What encouraged you to enter the design competition? What excites you about working with LTL or their products?
I came across LTL prints a few months back when I was looking for a way to provide aquatic art at a more affordable price than original paintings. I was doing research on vinyl wall decal sites, and I contacted LTL when I heard they work with artists and designers like me to create and print wall artwork. Kendall took a look at my site and we decided to do a test print of my work. I really liked the cloth quality of the prints and decided to go along with LTL for printing my work. The contest seemed like a cool idea so I entered my art in that as well.
What about LTL or its product inspired the design you submitted?
LTL is all about customizing your prints for your needs. With their tools people can virtually create any mural they want at almost any size. I realized that I would need to provide artwork that was not only fun, but also versatile and abundant. With the Internet, people want to do everything custom so I had to figure out a way to provide lots of fish in a relatively short period of time. I also realized that my work would have to look good at a small size as well as a large size. Luckily I used to work as a graphic designer, so I was able to use Photoshop and Illustrator to provide people with high quality artwork that looks good at any size.
What did you learn during the competition process?
The competition was fun. It was great to see all the entries. I think they all looked great. I can’t wait to see more of everyone’s work on LTL prints.
You can see more of John’s work (and his love of fish and the ocean!) at johnstires.com. You can also see more of John’s designs here in the LTL online catalog.
(This post brought to you by Gloria Bell on behalf of LTL Prints. Please direct any questions to gloria@ltlprints.com)
Tags: Design, Design Competition, Designer
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