Interview: Roberts Rurans
Illustrator based in Riga, Latvia
A PASSION THING is a magazine dedicated to telling the stories of people from around the world who are driven by the wonderful force we call passion. We’re excited to take these conversations beyond the page and into the digital world, with Substack as our new home.
This interview appears in A PASSION THING Issue No. 02
How did you come to do what you do right now? Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
Roberts I’ve been drawing ever since kindergarten, but I have my parents to thank for their support and approval of what I do, and for actually taking me to art schools, even when I didn’t feel like going. Going to art schools made me learn to admire classical and modern art. That’s always the first thing on my “to-see” list in a new city - the local art museum.
During my teenage years I got into street-art, which became a huge passion for a decade or so. My favorite thing became doing large scale murals with paint rollers on stitched paint sticks. I was quite active and felt like I’d always be doing it, but at some point when more illustration related commissions started to appear, I had to decide whether to stick with my street name or my real identity. I figured choosing my real name would be a more long-lasting and sustainable strategy and that choice gradually redirected my passion from street art to illustration.
I didn’t know one could make a living as an illustrator back then, so l applied for a part-time junior designer position in a graphic design studio while studying. That didn’t quite work out, as my passion for irregular, handmade and artistic designs wasn’t willing to be put into structure, grids and systems. So after a few years I left and, with the help of my designer friends, started freelancing as an illustrator.
The time spent in a graphic design studio turned out to be extremely valuable, as I learned pretty much everything I could about the practical, mindset, and business side of the industry, which still informs my career. After that I had a couple of adventurous years co-founding a graphic design studio, then I left that group and found my current visual style at the same time. Now I’m freelancing again and I’m really happy for the opportunity to work with great clients all over the world. And thus my current illustration style is a playful mix with influences from modern art, street art and graphic design alike.
