Introducing Fred Storr art to Incanda

About the Artist:

Fred Storr (born 1984) is a young, local artist based in Malmesbury, Swartland. He cherishes a slow life away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Before he started to pursue a career in fine arts, he first worked in an architectural office while studying architectural design.

After that, he worked in the corporate world for some years, before pursuing his dream. Storr explains that he approaches art intuitively, without any formal art training, and paints the picture as he sees it.

We wanted to know more about this talented artist and, to our delight, he was very forthcoming.

Q: What made you decide to pursue a career as a fine artist and what do you enjoy about it the most?

A: “I have always had a passion for our beautiful South African landscapes, and I have that story to tell. It is a story worth telling and given the opportunity, I would tell it a hundred times over. Sharing my passion with others is what brings me joy.”

Q: From where do you draw your inspiration from?

A: “I am inspired by all of nature, but in particular, the South African landscape. I would call my work ‘Unapologetic Pop Art’. Any colour goes, as long as it is black, blue, red or yellow. At best I normally hope to paint a third of a landscape image and leave the rest of the canvass for shadows to fill. Fleeting, ever-changing shadows reinforces a theme central to my work – the only constant in life is change.”

Fred Storr’s Coastline collection (2020) features a number of iconic coastal towns, among other Knysna, Stilbaai, Hermanus and Velddrif. The inspiration for the Coastline collection came in the midst of the lockdown period and centres around the idea how one can take things, including nature, for granted. Without warning everything can be taken away from you. To use an example that hits close to home. One day you can go to the beach and the next day all beaches are closed. The Coastline collection is focussed on the beauty of the South African coastline and its interesting geographical features that can easily be overlooked.

About the process:

Storr considers himself an illustrator and printmaker. He uses the term ‘Skygge Print’ to describe his preferred technique. The term translates as ‘Shadow Print’ from Norse. A hint back to his Norwegian heritage. He explains that this technique allows him to add an extra dimension to his pieces, making it almost 3 dimensional. This extra dimension is created by his clever use of shadows.

Q: This sounds fascinating! Could you explain how you factor shadows into your work?

A: “By printing directly onto glass, you bring the artwork to the forefront and create the illusion that it is floating. In addition to this, the artwork changes throughout the day as the light source changes, casting ever changing shadows. This is much the same as the sun moving across the sky, casting shadows over a contoured landscape or mountain range. Shadows are integral to my work and the image doesn’t look the same without it.”

Q: What is your process when starting a new Skygge Print?

A: “My illustrations usually start out as rough ideas. A few loose pencil strokes on a piece of paper are increasingly layered as I refine the image using computer aided illustration software and photo editing techniques. The end result is an illustration that is crisp while the energy and freedom of freehand strokes is retained. The last thing I want to create is computer art without soul.”

Q: How long does it take you to complete one print?

A: “Depending on the complexity and the number of layers, and using this technique, it can take anything from one to three weeks to get the desired effect.”

Q: Would you mind elaborating a bit about the actual printing process?

A: “In short, an extra fine ceramic mixture of ground-up glass oxides and ink is squeezed through a fine screen printing mesh to form an image onto a transparent glass plate. To create the image on the screen, a light sensitive emulsion is applied uniformly onto the screen printing mesh and the desired image is place on top of the emulsion. The emulsion is then exposed to ultra-violet light. This causes the exposed areas to become hard while the unexposed areas stay soft. When the screen printing mesh is hosed down with a cleaning agent it leaves behind a ‘stencil’ through which ink can be applied onto the glass plate.

Once the image has been printed on the glass, the plate is baked in a furnace/kiln at temperatures typically ranging between 400 to 600 degrees Celsius so that the ink becomes permanently fused into the glass.”

Q: Is this a process you developed yourself?

A: “No, there is nothing new about this process. It is said that archaeologists have found evidence of ceramic frit – pieces made using this process – dating back to Egyptian times.”

Q: Are you currently busy with any new projects that you are willing to share with us?

A: “I am currently working on a number of new pieces simultaneously. Among others, a collection featuring iconic Karoo towns and some works that feature iconic personalities that positively shaped the African continent.”

We would like to thank Storr for taking the time to shed more light on his work, his process and his message.

We are excited to see what this talented local artist still has in store for us!