Brush and Ink Work from Brighton Graduate Joseph Gough

Here are some examples of work from Joseph Gough, a recent University of Brighton graduate. I love the mixture of different marks he uses in his brush and ink work. We have a look at some illustrations from his project on ‘Lord of the Flies’ while he talks in depth about self-analysis, understanding his own style, and life after graduation.

All my work is personal work. During this last year at Brighton we’ve been asked to really define what it is that inspires us and to question why certain things keep cropping up in our work. This has been very beneficial for me. And so, most of my work stems from my own personal interests, whether that’s in magic realist literature or the Seattle grunge scene of the late ’80s.

A lot of my inspiration comes from films as I feel establishing mood in my work is always important, I am currently working on a project about giallo Italian horror films.

Maybe this goes toward explaining why my work can often be a little dark in nature, which I had to be told before I was even aware of it because it was just normal to me. I could be working on Hallmark greetings cards or something and something a little bit sinister could work its way in there and I wouldn’t even realise! I don’t know, I can’t help it I guess.

And so, that’s the start, I’ll sit at my desk with a pad of paper, a collection of brushes (most of which need replacing) and a pot of ink and i’ll start building a body of work. I mostly like to draw with ink and brush and I try to make quite graphic images with my mark making. A lot of my work is often sparse in colour or has no colour at all and that’s the way I like it at the moment, I guess when I feel I’ve got black and white down, I’ll try colour. Whatever area I’m looking at, I’ll start to build up a visual vocabulary and try to fully flesh out that world until it becomes something.  

I find that, just after you graduate, this is a precarious time as some people will continue to work and flourish whereas others will give it up and sort of fall by the wayside and it makes me sad to see this happen. However, I honestly couldn’t imagine doing anything else so I’ll continue to work and keep sharing my work with other people and see what the future holds. 

© Joseph Gough, 2011.