Dominic Kesterton
Guest Speaker



Immediately I found Dominc Kesterton much more relevant than Rob Hodgsun to both who I am as I practitioner and where I want to go with my practice. Aesthetically and thematically his work sits a lot closer to mine given that it is very bold and graphic with surreal and otherworldly elements. It is arguably a lot flatter than mine with a focus on line work rather than basic shape however in his lecture he did say that shape and balance were at the core of his practice as is the case with mine.

Furthermore he talked in depth how, despite the graphic and very considered nature of his final images he works very rough and loosely in his sketch book, something which I feel I can carry through and develop within my own practice.

In terms of what work he does, most of it is either bespoke print based work such as zines, t shirts and prints or editorials for publications such as The New York Times, Therefore in terms of context his work sits in the same areas that I  want mine practice to.



Balancing a Steady Job with Personal Practice

Much like Hodgson, Kesterton also worked within another job to support his illustration in his case this was as part as a print studio doing commercial print jobs for people. However he did highlight that as well as being financially supportive this job also helped him build up his on personal client based something which I feel I can do within working as part of a Studio.

The Importance of Personal Projects in Gaining Commissions

He also talked in depth on how it is mainly through his personal projects that he gets commissions whether this is pieces being licensed directly or a client asking for a similar piece of work being commissioned. This highlights just how proactive I will have to be with my practice after uni so as to build up a client base.