Dylan Izaak

Dylan is a name synonymous with creativity, from revered singer/songwriter (and fellow contemporary artist), Bob, and the Welsh wordsmith and one-time poet laureate, Thomas, to the larger than life rabbit with a penchant for the Blue Smarties who used to hang on ‘The Magic Roundabout’ (also in the 1970s, mainly). But now there’s another smart and creatively clued up Dylan on the block, going by the name of Izaak. And this guy’s definitely in the zone at the moment. Anyway, the artist formerly known as Dylan, will henceforth be referred to as Izaak, as opposed to a squiggle, and what follows is pretty much what he’s about.

The Dylan in question on this time of asking has made massive strides in the contemporary urban landscape art markets over successive years, with his latest hugely popular compositional undertakings always the source of much anticipation amongst seasoned fans and serious collectors alike. His idiosyncratic view of undulating skylines, iconic buildings and frenetic metropolitan scenes ensures that we all view each and every Izaak piece with fresh eyes and open, unclouded perspectives.
Izaak hails from Rugby in the shire of Warwick, deep in middle England (well, the East Midlands as it happens), and was born here/there back in 1971; although he’s moved around, relentlessly ever since by all accounts. Indeed, Izaak has taken in the scenery indicative of Coventry, Stratford-upon-Avon and Australia at various times and points on the grid references ever since, before finally re-settling in the noted birthplace of a certain William Shakespeare of course. Izaak himself is one of those occasional breeds of contemporary artist who’s self-taught, having never darkened the doors of anything bordering on an art educational establishment to the best of our knowledge.

“I didn’t even get my GCSE art”, states Izaak, before filling in the blanks; “I did the work but didn’t bother handing it in. I always thought if I went on to study it, other people would influence me”. On leaving school, Australia beckoned for Izaak, and a timely reunion with his family who had moved out there during his schooling. Previously Izaak would go for the Australian summer and come back to Britain for our summer. He started making a living my manifesting fairly conservative, architectural-style paintings and sketches of Sydney Opera House, the harbour bridge and other city scenes. Eventually Izaak perfected his own style of art on the streets, taking his enlightening work to the transient masses who fleetingly populated the cityscapes in which he chose to flaunt his extraordinary creative wares. These urban landscapes weren’t just restricted to his native Anglo-Australian shores either, as Izaak quite literally proceeded to paint some of the world’s most instantly recognizable landmarks as he toured the world, hot on the heels of the summer seasonal travellers and tourists who themselves descended on famous thoroughfares.

Izaak’s style was one of detailed pen and ink studies, yet he did dabble in alternative mediums and styles as perpetual practice eventually made what he considered perfect. After spending the best part of a decade capturing the illustrative essence of a myriad of times and places, Izaak returned to Britain and opened his own art gallery. Not one for convention, and aware of having limited funds and fiscal parameters in which to operate, Izaak’s gallery took the largely unfamiliar shape of a canal-navigating narrow boat; a floating presentation wall (or two) for prospective buyers. After much elaborate planning, Izaak’s novel, moving gallery concept was well received, and after working thereafter on a particular collection he began registering more than the passing interest of local, and let’s say, more traditionally-positioned art galleries. They weren’t the only ones who took to Izaak’s work either, as it wasn’t long before this new level of exposure caught the attention of one of the UK’s foremost fine art publishers, DeMontford.

Demand for Izaak’s very visual endeavours exploded, with DeMontford running out numerous limited edition prints of the artist’s signature works so as to satisfy the needs of his brand new audience, and today Izaak’s high impact compositions – many of the originals of which are crafted onto brushed aluminium – are now sold and collected across the globe. In addition to this, Izaak was selected – and therefore honoured/immortalised – by the 2012 Olympics people, and invited to become one of the Official Olympic Artists for the uber successful London Games of that year. Izaak turned his unique, brushed aluminium craft which fronted vivacious colour blocks and wonky icons to the capital’s universally famous and instantly recognisable skyline. There were cyclists with balloon-like thighs streaming down The Mall in one picture; athletes from every discipline parading down a typical British street in another. Speaking on the subject at the time Izaak reveals; “To be honest, a lot of it was corporate stuff, so it wasn’t available to the public as much as I wanted it to be”. But it all went down a storm and introduced him and his art to another, broader-still audience.

In terms of inspiration, especially so when he encounters the artist equivalent of writer’s block, and Izaak, as you might imagine on reading above, doesn’t necessarily seek it from the more obvious, tried and tested sources. No. Izaak retires to a muddy patch near to his home studio and ponders over things with two of the other ladies in his life; Wendy and Gloria. Yes, his pigs. Despite his pig distractions, Izaak is a fairly ordinary chap, favouring beers, the company of people and cars amongst a few of his favourite things, and admits that winning the lottery would be pretty ‘spesh. A completely un-artist expression of intent, without question, but then Izaak isn’t your typical ‘creative’ type it seems.