Ink on Paper Source X Chris DeLorenzo

“I have a bigger studio now and that allows me to have more space to keep more art supplies at the ready. I have pastels, watercolors, acrylics, markers, colored pencils, mugs full of pens, etc. all within reach, so when it’s time to create, whatever I grab can lead me down a road to creating a new body of work I probably wouldn’t have gone down if I said, “ok tomorrow I will take out my pastel set and start doing a new series.” Now I’ll draw with graphite at first and then halfway through say “ooo this would actually better in colored pencil” and I can immediately grab them and start.”

“I mostly work in pen and ink and then digitally. I try to create work that I can make on paper and the computer, and they can look the same. I love a good fountain pen and a big paint marker for drawings, those are my go-tos, but recently I’ve been using a lot more watercolor and love making black and white watercolor pieces. I’ve done single color line work for so long that I have a hard time picking color and just love the satisfaction of making an image work in one color. Recently I’ve started to experiment more and am trying my hand at more ceramic and concrete relief prints of my drawings. The whole process is a full studio experience; I’m using my 3d printer to create molds from drawings I drew by hand, cleaned up on the computer and then I get to play with new materials and get my hands dirty to make the final product. I like the journey it goes from analog to tech to analog again.” 

Chris describes his aesthetic as “whimsically poetic.” He said, “my drawings are simple and bold and have a touch of the surreal to them, bending the reality around us to show a new idea or way of seeing something. I started as a designer making logos and t-shirts so that sensibility has carried over to my drawings. I like to create work that can have a broad use, simple black and white illustrations with a clear concept that I could turn into a shirt, a sticker, a hat, a mug, etc. My larger pieces and murals rely on graphic connections and finding commonalities and contextual links that I can weave some levity into. I used to do a lot of work that relied on software, and so when I started doing murals, I needed a way to be able to live draw something myself so by necessity my work became simpler and started to have a bolder line quality and that bled over into my other work and everything became more harmonious.” 

“My grandmother was an artist and known around my hometown, and back in 1955 when the local coffee shop wanted a mural to put behind their counter they asked her to paint one. She created this massive 15-foot oil painting of the Main Street area, and it became a fixture of the town. Then, 50 years later, the town commissioned her to make another one, depicting Main Street and all that’s changed since. And now both murals hang in the halls of our town hall. Flash forward 70-ish years later and now I’ve been approached by my town to create a new one to continue the legacy of the Main Street mural she started. I remember going to her house when she was painting the new one and she moved all the furniture in her living room and had the canvas stretched across the wall, I can still smell the oil paints and picture her in one of her flannels working away. It’s funny to think about that and where I ended up in my career, how these familial traits carry on in new ways.” 

“My creative process is split between mindless doodling — letting my subconscious lead me and follow the lines I start making on the page — and going for walks and thinking until that right idea finally clicks in my head. For my Ink on Paper Source collection, I did a little bit of both. For the list cards and notepads, I thought it would be a good opportunity to play with the context and be more conceptual rather than make a more decorative piece. A list is a group of things you want or need to do or have someone do, so I thought about protesters and picket signs and then I thought it would be funny if someone was holding a sign that just said, “milk, bread, eggs!”. Your daily to-dos start to feel more important when it’s a mob of protesters at your door. When it comes to realizing the ideas, I usually sketch first, then scan and redraw on the computer in Photoshop. The first phase takes the longest. I’m not really a process artist; I like to use whatever is in front of me and can get the idea down.” 

“As this is my introduction in the Paper Source world, I wanted to create a diverse line of products and designs that could appeal to different personalities. I have a few styles I work in, and I wanted to bring each of those sides of me out. I like simple pretty floral designs, I like minimal abstract stuff, and I also like witty cartoony stuff. The stationery we choose is an extension of ourselves, so I wanted a range that people could find themselves in. That idea led me to make the hands holding flowers cards, because a card is a way to reach out to someone so when you open these letters you literally see a hand reaching out to you, giving you something nice.”

“Usually I’m working on the next thing or trying to get the next job and don’t take the time to reflect too much, but I have two young kids now and I have been brought into their classrooms for parent career day talks and those brief interactions with kids where I show my work and get to tell them about all the things an artist and designer does makes me feel really lucky to be in this career. Their eyes light up and drawing begins to feel like a superpower and not just a normal day job to them. I’m proud of art in general and its ability to transcend age and status and connect with anybody, the fact that I can bring my work in front of a Fortune 500 company or 500 5-year-olds and they can both have the same reaction is a really special thing and I’m proud to get to be a part of.”

To explore Chris DeLorenzo’s Ink on Paper Source collection click here, visit his website, and follow him on social.