Frankie Curtis (AKA CurtisCreationz) is an artist with an overactive imagination. Born and bred in South East London, Frankie Curtis has created a unique style inspired from a childhood of growing up watching cartoons. Her work is a vibrant collection of crazy characters with a sprinkle of humour throughout. Working mostly in acrylic paints and markers, spray paint, and digital work bringing her work to life in an animated format. Graduated from the University of Portsmouth after studying BA(Hons) Illustration in 2014, she has continually adapted and perfected her 'doodle' style, working for clients from the Mayor of London, to the Teletubbies and everything in between. She's taken part in several exhibitions, art fairs and paint festivals globally.
1) Which art movement do you consider most influential on your practice?
The street art movement is probably one that has become most influential, the huge variety of work you can see on the streets and the amount of different styles, techniques and materials used is always impressive. I also love the thought of bringing art out of galleries and into the streets where a lot of different people can see it and enjoy, especially those that wouldn’t usually take an interest in a generic art gallery.
2) Where do you go and when to make your best art?
I mostly create in my studio and I do this as often as I can. It’s my favourite thing to do, so I find it easy to sit and draw all day long. I also enjoy painting in Leake Street and Brick Lane when spray painting murals.
3) How do you describe your 'creative process'?
I love to just get started and create without thinking. This gets me drawing straight from my imagination, I can create new characters from experimenting this way. It also takes away the pressure of things being ‘perfect’, the imperfections in my work make it what it is and sometimes they don’t work out how I first imagined. But such as in life, it’s not always perfect, but you deal with it and learn. No such thing as mistakes.
4) Which artist, living or deceased, is the greatest inspiration to you?
A difficult question, I have three artists that I find inspiration from. I love Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Mr Doodle. These artists are ones I discovered after creating my signature ‘doodle’ style, and their work makes me feel incredibly determined and passionate.
5) If you weren't an artist, what would you do?
I would love to be a scuba diving instructor, or maybe a videographer for National Geographic!
6) What do you listen to for inspiration?
In terms of podcasts, I love ‘Diary of a CEO’ by Steven Bartlett. Listening to people’s stories and successes really gives me inspiration. In terms of music, I like fast-paced drum and bass, grime or dance music. It gets me pumped up and ready to create my work at speed.
7) If you could own one artwork, and money was no object, which piece would you acquire?
I love sculptures, so I would love one of Sebastian Burdon’s balloon dogs.
8) If your dream museum or collection owner came calling, which would it be?
I want to create a huge doodle installation for Saatchi.
9) What is your key piece of advice for artists embarking on a fine art or creative degree today?
Don’t give up. Create as much as you can, if you can’t find work or clients, give yourself creative projects. Experiment with different styles and techniques, your work doesn’t have to stick to one medium. I doodle on walls, cars, clothing, statues, and do animation amongst other things. Don’t listen to people that don’t believe in you, and get comfortable with being rejected – use it as motivation to push yourself further.
10) What is your favourite book of all time (fiction or non fiction)?
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, a few years ago I hit an artist’s block and it really helped me get back on track.
11) If you could hang or place your artwork in one non-traditional art setting, where would that be?
Literally anywhere. I really want to doodle a tunnel, maybe in the London Underground, bringing some excitement to people on their boring morning commute.
12) What was the biggest lesson your university course or time studying taught you?
Learning to experiment and having accessibility to equipment really helped. As well as having a weekly crit on mine and my peer’s work. Working with other artists is always fun and very helpful.
13) And finally, if we were to fast forward 10 years, where would we find you?
Working as a successful international artist. Having exhibitions around the world, working with schools and young people.
Learn more about Frankie and discover her collection of artworks.
