#TheArtists: An Interview with Daniel Clarke & Clare Curtis

We sat down with illustrator Daniel Clarke and printmaker Clare Curtis to talk about the Artist Collection and their pocket squares.

Turnbull & Asser: How did your careers begin?

Daniel Clarke: I had always been interested in drawing and painting since I discovered skateboarding around the age of 12. Through this I would create my own board graphics, t-shirts and animations which developed into a hobby quite naturally.

Clare Curtis: I took the tradition route through art college. I specialised in illustration and printmaking and I’ve worked in print, illustration and design ever since.

T&A: How would you describe your style, Daniel?

DC: Um, colour and geometric? I’ll leave the one for the viewer, ha!

T&A: Do you have a go-to colour palette, Clare?

CC: If you work with colour you can't help but have your favourite combinations. When you are a printmaker you become very skilled in colour mixing. Nothing is picked off the shelf, every colour is mixed from scratch so you can get exactly the match you want. I like to work with a limited palette of three to six colours.

T&A: What was the inspiration behind the design for your pocket squares?

DC: I had recently moved to Germany and I was collecting a lot of shapes at the time in my sketch book. When I started the painting, I began by flicking through my sketchbook and bringing the different shapes together into an overlapping pattern. I had a lot of fun with it just throwing the pieces together and seeing how they sat next to one another. This was the end result, and the colours are also quite reminiscent of the houses on the road that I live on, I think this subconsciously slipped its way in.

CC: My first thought was that the design had to have something of interest in each corner of the square. I liked the idea of unfolding a pocket square to reveal a complete scene. The stag is obviously a masculine symbol but it also has an age old connection with the British landscape and wilderness. It’s a timeless symbol that represents strength and continuity.

T&A: Take us through your influences…

DC: My surroundings influence me the most—architecture, miscellaneous objects, and street furniture are the things that often find their way into my work. As for artists, I'm mostly inspired by a lot of early 20th century painters and print makers, such as A. M Cassandre and Giorgio de Chirico but also a lot of current artists too (Gaurab Thakali and Lee Marshall to mention a few) as it's inspiring to follow their work and see how it progresses with time.

CC: I’m a huge fan of mid-century British art and design. In particularly anything from the inter-war period. Ranging from textiles, posters, ceramics to painting, illustration, sculpture and printmaking, they all interest me. There are many printmakers I love but Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious are probably the best known. My favourite painter is Paul Nash. I’m a gardener in my spare time so plants and gardens are always a source of inspiration.

T&A: What would you like to explore next?

DC: Working in digital 3D and I've also been making some simple pieces of furniture recently with wood, so I'd like to find a way to combine that with my painting. That's the next step!

CC: I’m really wanting to produce my own illustrated book!

We go behind-the-scenes with Clare Curtis for The #ArtistCollection. Watch the video below, and shop the collection here.