Artist Interview: The Fleece

The Fleece is an art collective formed by artists Graeme, Rich, and Phil in 2022. They aspire to create and produce ‘abstract ideas’ through the medium of digital, film, music, publications, events, installations, and other randomness.

The collective is the creators of The 100gallery, which is a platform for democratic art — The 100gallery project invites everyone to create and own a unique artwork. Words, sentences, numbers and characters are transformed into abstract images in a 10 x 10 color-coded grid. When added to the gallery, two versions of each artwork are produced — a file for web and a vector file for print.

We asked The Fleece about their art, creative process, and inspirations.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: CCTV*

Can you tell us about your background as digital artists? How did you get started in this field?

Graeme started making digital art around 2012 (the 3 of us; Graeme, Rich and Phil were all working in design/advertising at that time)... the work was made specifically for the web, using the same type of code used in the web-pages we peruse every day. The name of each piece takes the form of a domain name (or URL), giving it a unique space on the web – at once viewable to all, but own-able by one.

Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Toffee

What inspires your art? Are there any particular themes or subjects that you enjoy exploring through your artwork?

Using simple forms and colour to abstractly represent and evoke bigger ideas about life and the everyday.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Church*

What is an event which you consider a milestone in your digital art career?

Getting an exhibition on the Neverland Space in 2014.

Launching the viral hit OneWayRoadToBeer in 2020.

Forming The Fleece collaboration in 2022.

And launching 100.gallery in October 2023.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Picasso*

Can you tell us about some of your favorite pieces or a past or upcoming project? What makes them special to you?

The 100.gallery. Every day we have a new favourite on the gallery... there never seems to be an end to the visual combinations created.

What materials, software, and tools do you typically use for your digital artwork? Are there any specific programs or techniques you specialize in?

For 100.gallery we leverage the Web platform and Node.js.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Coca Cola*

What does your creative process look like? How do you approach brainstorming and conceptualizing ideas?

As a rule we generally meet in the pub. From there we will come up with an idea — then we’ll talk about other random things. The next day, we will delegate tasks to suit our strengths... from initial concept to the design through to the build. Then we go back to the pub and iterate from there.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Debbie Does Dallas*

How do you balance technical skills with artistic creativity in your digital artwork? How do these two aspects complement each other in your work?

Being a collective of three, we have a good balance. Phil is 100% pure creativity. Graeme has a foot in both camps. And Rich is the technical one, but with strong creative sensibilities.

Creativity leads the way and we then figure how to approach technically to achieve those ambitions. We remain open to the evolution of creative concepts as those ideas become software.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Greggs*

Can you share an example of a challenging project you’ve worked on recently? What were the obstacles you encountered, and how did you overcome them?

Getting our heads around NFTs! That’s still a work in progress.

How do you stay inspired and motivated as digital artists? Are there any specific techniques or practices you use to overcome creative blocks?

Searching out great work which makes you think “I wish I had done that.” Then try and do something half as great.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: eee(eeeeeeeee)*

Are there any artists or creative influences that have had a significant impact on your work? How have they shaped your artistic style or approach?

Conceptually: Everyone from Picasso and Mondrian to the Fluxus art movement and through to Jenny Holzer and Damien Hirst.

Visually: Josef Albers. Ellsworth Kelly. Bridget Riley. Gerhard Richter and thousands of other Op Art artists

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Google*

What do you hope to achieve in the future?

Creating the largest collection of user-generated digital artwork ever... and hopefully selling work physically or as NFTs.

“The 100gallery project invites everyone to create and own a unique artwork. Words, sentences, numbers and characters are transformed into abstract images in a 10 x 10 color-coded grid. The grid allows for many trillions of artwork variations — more variations than there are stars in the solar system, which means that the 100gallery has the potential to become one of the largest collection of artworks ever produced.”

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Kiss Me*

What is a profound childhood memory?

Graeme: Falling down the stairs at school assembly. (My first ever piece of web art was about this childhood memory).

What is a fun fact about you?

Graeme: I broke my leg whilst fooling around on a playground 20 years after falling down those stairs.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Hate*

What would we most probably find you doing if not creating art?

If not messing about with computers, bikes, skateboards and snowboards it’d be listening to some obscure South American psych/folk/funk/electronic music... or in the pub talking about creating art.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Yoko Ono*

How do you think technology is impacting creativity?

It’s providing us with more ways to display and share our ideas.

How do you think NFTs are impacting digital arts?

It’s something we’re just beginning to explore with 100.gallery — a new form of “art ownership” is the most interesting aspect of it.

*Digital Art from 100gallery by The Fleece: Lennon*

How do you see digital arts evolving in the future?

It feels very wild west at the moment... lots of creators, but not so much curation. Hopefully we’ll start to see aspects of quality and curation increase as things mature.

What advice would you give to aspiring digital artists who are just starting out?

Try lots of things. Collaborate with like-minded, but different-skilled friends... ideally in the pub.

Are there any resources or learning materials you would recommend to help them improve their skills?

Belief and perseverance... and some luck.