
About Brendan Clarke, Artist & Illustrator
I'm an artist and illustrator in the UK, bringing the darker side of life out through my drawings.
I'm deeply influenced by gothic art and themes, brining macabre and eerie ideas to life.
I have traditionally worked with pencil and dry media, and more recently using dry media styles with digital techniques.
Having spent my childhood and teenage years drawing, painting, and creating, I further developed my skills in college, becoming an aspiring artist, working extensively with dry-media and developing a penchant for abstract expressionism.
As part of my course, I exhibited large-scale abstract drawings, often being hidden away in the studio for days, and using extensive wall space to work on projects.
It is during this time in my life that I developed myself, both as an artist, and as a person. My abstract phase was also a rebellion of sorts, it allowed me to break away from the misguided belief that art needed to be a technical feat that must be mastered. Where I had previously strived for precision and realism, I finally realised that it was about so much more, about expression and capturing moments.
I had been drawing on a commission-basis for family, friends, and anyone who would take an interest in my drawings.
At different points, I experimented with different styles and forms, playing with illustration, and working in different media, but always found myself drifting back to dry media drawings.
Eventually, I found my rhythm in creating quick, dark, and ominous illustrative drawings, partly inspired by artists such as Edward Gorey, Charles Addams, Tim Burton, and John Bellairs. These gritty drawings have allowed me to express myself and convey a diverse range of ideas and thoughts.
