Artist Lewis Vance from Lisbellaw first took an interest in art during his time at school.

Since then he has been developing his style, working in various media.

However, he has a particular love for drawing in pen as it allows him to achieve the most detail in his work.

Here, he talks to The Impartial Reporter about his biggest influences, his most ambitious piece, to date, and what his art means to him.

What is your artistic background? Are you self-taught or did you go to art school/do courses?

I FIRST remember taking an interest in art at third year in school. This led to me taking it on for GCSE and subsequently A-Level, where I really found out how much I enjoyed it.

I then followed that up by completing Foundation Art at South West College, which exposed me to a wider range of mediums and techniques.

What inspires your art?

I WOULD say my art is mostly inspired by the things around me. I find myself constantly looking at things and picturing how I would recreate them if they were to be part of a piece.

I’m also largely influenced by other artists, and love to incorporate their different styles in to my work.

Who/what are your biggest influences?

TWO of my favourite artists and biggest influences are Danny O’Connor and Gabriel Moreno. Seeing their work inspires me to improve my own, and they both have styles that resonate with me.

I also love browsing Pinterest and saving anything that catches my eye and can be used to inspire new pieces.

Is there a specific place that you do your work? Do you have a studio?

CURRENTLY I am just creating my work in my bedroom at home, although in the future I would love to have my own space fully dedicated to art.

The one positive I can think of having it in my room is that I am always looking at it, so it’s always in my head even if I do not realise it.

Therefore, I can be constantly problem-solving and thinking of ways to improve my art in the back of my mind.

What has been your most ambitious piece, to date?

MY MOST ambitious piece, to date, has definitely been my most recent piece, which was a study of a lion that I created using just a standard ballpoint pen.

What made it so ambitious was the sheer scale and detail of the piece as it stands at 48.5 by 48.5 inches, and includes filigree-style swirls surrounding the main study.

What different artistic mediums do you use and which is your favourite?

I MAINLY work in pencil or pen studies as well as acrylic paint and a little bit of watercolour. My favourite to use is without a doubt pen, as it allows me to achieve the most detail in my work and I just love the look of it.

Also, it requires minimal set-up, so I can jump in to a piece whenever I want for as long or as short a period as I have time for.

What are you currently working on?

AT THE moment I am currently working on commissions. More specifically, the piece I am in the middle of is an acrylic paint portrait of two dogs for a friend to be given as a gift.

Between commissions, I work on my own original pieces, which allows me to explore different outcomes with a bit more freedom.

Do you exhibit your work anywhere?

CURRENTLY my work is only on show on my Facebook and Instagram pages, which can be found by searching for ‘Lewis Vance Art’.

In addition to this, some pieces are up for sale on my Etsy shop. In the future I plan on displaying my work in a gallery as there is nothing like seeing a piece in person to really appreciate it.

Any new artistic ventures planned for 2021?

MY MAIN plan for 2021 is just to create as much art as possible throughout the year and to post as much as I can on my social media platforms.

They say practice makes perfect, so it will only help me improve.

Furthermore, the more artwork I have on display allows me to show people what I can do, and can only be good for business.

What has been your favourite project, to date?

MY FAVOURITE has been a recent commission I completed of Ballintoy Harbour. I got such great feedback and it seemed to be very popular, so it was very motivating for me.

It was also my first proper landscape study and has opened my eyes to a new line of art I can follow.

What are you up to when you aren’t creating art?

WITH art being something that confines me to one room, I use my free time to get out and exercise.

I enjoy going to the gym and I play football for my local team, Lisbellaw United.

Obviously, current circumstances don’t allow a lot of that, so I try my best to get out for a run.

How would you describe your artistic style?

I WOULD say my art is very detailed and I try to make it as accurate to my source images as I can, using a bit of artistic license.

You will find a hint of a more expressive and loose style in my original pieces, which is something I am trying to allow to have a bigger influence on my work, to add more variety to my portfolio.

What does your art mean to you?

I SEE art as an opportunity to wake up every day and enjoy what I do for a living.

It doesn’t feel like a job to me as I enjoy it so much, which is why I hope to some day make a full-time career out of it.