It’s easy to get lost in Riza Peker’s lush floral patterns, highly detailed animal artworks, and dark yet enthralling fantasy artworks. They would make a nice tattoo – and even nicer wall art! Riza comes from the world of fashion and in this week’s On The Spot, he walks us through his path from textile designer to freelance artist.
What’s your artistic background?
Having spent the last two decades working in the fashion industry, I started my freelancer artist career about 8 years ago, bringing together all that I had learned so far. In the past, I worked as a textile and print designer and these jobs helped me improve my art skills. Currently, I’m focused on digital arts which moved from being my hobby to being my profession.
Your focus is on whimsical floral patterns, animal motifs, and… skulls! What draws you to these topics?
Let’s start with the skulls: I’ve always loved them! I look for skulls in the games I play and the movies I watch, so it’s only natural to bring them to my art, too. I also love crows, snakes and spiders.
As for floral designs, I used to make a lot of them in my textile industry days. Today, after 20 years in fashion, flowers are the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about design.
I believe my works merge all these images and topics together.
How did you develop your artistic style?
Through experimenting and doing everything in my power to learn new things that could help my imagination come alive.
What are your biggest inspirations?
Contrasts inspire me. I find a lot of beauty and harmony in opposing forces: the beauty and the beast, life and death, light and darkness. I think that this love for contrasts can be seen in my designs.
Are there any artists you look up to?
I follow hundreds of artists and keep exploring new designs, but if I were to name three creators right now, I’d go with Peter Mohrbacher, Wenqing Yan, and Guillermo Lorca.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not creating art?
I love spending time with my family. I play a lot of video games with my sons (usually I’m player number two) and I’m set on my personal mission to get beaten in all the fighting and soccer games we own. Whenever I’m not taking care of my children, I watch TV series, read books, listen to music, or play or watch football.
What are your goals for the future?
I want to reach more people with my designs and start being recognized for my artistic endeavors.
Instagram: @rzapeker
