Focus on Ratur's creative process

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your artistic practice?

 My name is Arthur Maslard, alias Ratur. I'm a painter from Le Havre, France, with a background in graffiti.

What's your background and how did you get started?

I spent most of my teenage years in an urban environment, on a skateboard. It's a very creative sport, always on the lookout for the slightest exploitable spot. In exactly the same way as graffiti. I started graffiti in 2001, while studying graphic communications. I found the same passion in it as in skateboarding, where you try to adapt to a place by drawing inspiration from the environment around you. Technically and creatively, my work has been evolving ever since.

In your day-to-day work as an artist, what inspires you? What triggers the creation of a work?

At present, I draw a lot of my inspiration from nature, and feel the need to be close to it. I dare to imagine that nature will reclaim its rights over man, and my current series is a way of illustrating this. I'm also always inspired by classical painting, impressionism, graphics, abstraction... by my brother the artist @Sckaro.

It's hard to say what triggers me to start creating, but it's a constant process of thinking about how I can make my next work evolve. Sometimes things just click, but the creative part is really the most difficult, because it depends on everyday feelings.

Can you explain how you create a work? What are the different stages of creation?

My creative process is mainly digital, but involves a great deal of drawing. I then interpret this research pictorially. The idea is to retain a certain spontaneity and freedom in terms of form, color and treatment. I love classical palette work, but also techniques similar to those of the Flemish masters: grisaille, glaze for oils and washes for acrylics. It's also a constant process of research: my work in the studio helps me to develop my techniques for the walls, and vice-versa.

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