Ryan Quickfall
If you ride a motorcycle, you’re likely already familiar with UK artist Ryan Quickfall. His illustrations have been featured in Sideburn Magazine, Dice Magazine, and Iron and Air Magazine, and at Deus Ex Machina motorcycle shops worldwide. He counts Harley Davidson as a regular client. As a longtime motorcycle rider himself – he’s a flat track racer – Quickfall embues his works with dynamic energy informed by much time spent on the road.
Drawing from inspirations as diverse as 70s and 80s Commando war comics and 19th century Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada, Quickfall creates prints featuring his signature bold line work and a vintage comic book vibe.
Quickfall has exhibited at solo shows in the UK and the US, and plans to do much more in the states in the future!
Learn more about Ryan Quickfall on his website.
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Zeus Beard: When did you know you wanted to become an artist?
Ryan Quickfall: I’m not sure I can pinpoint an exact time I knew I wanted to become an artist. I always drew from a young age. I drew things not with the aim of having a finished work, but for entertainment. I drew crazy scenes of space and air battles, having been influenced by old war comics. So I basically never stopped drawing, painting, etc. I didn’t really know how to become an “artist”. I just knew that drawing was pretty much the backbone of all of my spare time and it was just assumed that I would move into a professional direction at some point. But it wasn’t until College that I realised there were many different directions to go.
ZB: You said that 90% of your work involves motorcycles. Why the fascination?
RQ: Like most kids I grew up riding bicycles. They were a way to get out of the house and explore. I started getting into BMX, which formed a huge part of my life from my teens to my early twenties. We also used to fly around the local farmers’ fields on motocross bikes in the summer holidays. We’d all chip in for a can of fuel and ride all day in the summer until we ran out. No permission, just ripping about.
I guess these days in the UK, we’re fairly tight for space and you’d be annoying someone. You’d get nicked fairly quickly. So I was lucky to have the opportunity to just mess around.
ZB: What was your first experience with motorcycles?
RQ: Riding motocross bikes as a kid was my first experience. It wasn’t until I was 21 that road bikes came into my life. As soon as I was old enough, I went for my full bike licence. In the UK you have to be 21 to ride a big bike on the road. Two months after my 21st I was out on the roads on my first bike, a Honda NC30. It was awesome. But someone reversed over that in a truck and killed it. After that it was a Yamaha R6, a companion for the rest of my road riding days - until I sold it and got into Dirt Track racing.
ZB: You participate in flat track racing. Which bike do you currently ride?
RQ: The bike I ride is a 560 Rotax powered modified CCM. My good mate Mike Hill from Survivor Customs had slaved over it for weeks, cutting and welding to get a good set up. This April was the start of my first full season. I’m not fast, but it is huge fun. It’s nothing like riding a bike on the road; you can go for it without the fear of someone pulling out of a junction on you. Plus it’s the best bunch of people I know. At the DTRA championship here in the UK, people come from all walks of life. You wouldn’t believe!
ZB: Your work features solid black line work, bold colors, and a comic book vibe. Where do you draw inspiration from?
RQ: I can most likely pin the influence in my style back to reading comics as a kid. The comics I read probably weren’t cool at the time, haha. They were like 70s and 80s Commando war comics. They had really rough line work, but the scenes were awesome. And all old British war stories.
ZB: Which artists influence you?
RQ: I’m influenced by so many people. They may not be directly reflected in my work, but I admire so many artists who are just doing it. Going out and busting a gut to get where they want to be is hugely inspiring, and you get to see a lot of that on Instagram. But I think one huge influence is Jose Guadalupe Posada.
You can see the skeleton influence in my work. But really it’s how he portrayed his characters in an anatomically incorrect way. Odd angles and jaunty jaws. That made me think that you could have a style to yourself. His work is unique.
Then there are contemporary influences, like Dface and Ornamental Conifer. I love the use of bright, bold colours in their work. And how they’ve brought lettering and sign painting into their work in places. There are so many people who influence me, and Instagram allows a mind boggling amount work to pass through your consciousness. It’s hard not to have a certain amount of subliminal influence.
ZB: You’re a freelance illustrator. What’s a typical day like?
RQ: I normally walk to the studio with the dog. Get in early if I can and sort out admin stuff first. It’s the hardest part of my job. Then I’m in the studio most of the day working on projects. Drawing, colouring in Photoshop, and often screen printing in the studio, too.
ZB: What’s the creation process of a new piece?
RQ: Normally I will sketch out ideas. Put them to the client and move forward from there. Or if it’s personal work, I sketch something up and develop it by inking it out. From there I will scan it in and refine the line work in Photoshop, where I am able to split it into colour layers ready to make into positives for screen print.
Client work is either an illustration which needs digital colouring, or, if it’s for a t-shirt, an illustration that also needs layering and splitting into colour output for positives. If it’s an original canvas, that normally starts with a sketch and then I scale that up straight onto canvas. It’s a hands-on process with the originals, no computers needed.
ZB: Do you have a favorite piece, or favorite pieces?
RQ: I think my newer original artworks on canvas are some of my favourites. Mainly because I’ve wanted to push into this for a long time and I’ve eventually started to make good progress with these pieces. Anything with a fairly open brief is good to work on though.
ZB: What are you currently working on?
RQ: I’ve just finished up some apparel designs for Harley Europe and I’m working on a few new personal screen printed artworks. Ready for some upcoming shows.
ZB: When’s your next solo show?
RQ: I think it will be in London. It’s not set in stone, but I think I will be having a show of original and printed woks at Rebels Alliance in London. They are an incredible bunch and have been very supportive of my work so far. You can also see my work at The Bike Shed London. I am creating work for Union Garage in Brooklyn at the moment too. But 2017 I plan to display as much work as possible and do some more stuff in the US if the opportunities pop up!
