Some Pretentious Art - About | Joshua Prince Culshaw

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Where It aLL sTarted

& My First Artwork

Q&A

We create visual work at the intersection of storytelling, culture, and philosophy. This Q&A begins to dig into who we are, how we work, and what drives Some Pretentious Art's commitment to meaningful, authentic art.

Why We Want To Share Art

How do you know when to trust your instinct versus when to listen to outside opinions Everybody has a gut feeling, but your gut isn't 100% right all the time. General life experience has taught me to recognise that gut feelings are important but fallible. Outside opinion is also extremely useful if you know where it's coming from. You want opinions from people taking a complete view of what you're trying to create, not snap judgments made for adverse reasons. Listen to people whose opinions, tastes, and work you respect; talk with people you interact with on a personal level.

What is the difference between creating for yourself and creating for someone else to experience Hopefully, not that much. When I create for myself, I don't have to care as much about detailing or keeping records of the process - you just do, because ultimately you care about the final piece. When creating for someone else to experience, that final piece is still the most important thing; it's their first impression. But there's more progress recognition, detailing and keeping a record. You need to ensure your end product is explainable. Creating for yourself means everything's through your own lens. If I have an affinity for a particular emotion, colour, or symbolism I understand, I can use it without explanation because it's for me. But if I want to evoke a feeling or reference a cultural marker for a general audience, I need to understand that different people interpret those markers differently.

Is there anything that you have learned through the need to document your work for the benefit of your audience Absolutely. Documenting the process has forced me to articulate decisions I'd otherwise make instinctively. When creating just for myself, I don't question why I chose a particular colour or composition; I just do it because it feels right. But when you're creating work that has a public audience, you need to explain those choices, which means understanding them yourself first. This documentation has made me a more intentional creator. I'm not just reacting emotionally; I'm observing my own creative process. Why did I gravitate towards that reference? What was I trying to communicate with this visual element? Sometimes the act of writing about a piece reveals things I didn't consciously know I was doing. It's also taught me that keeping records throughout the design process, whilst annoying and slow when you just want to get on with being creative, makes you far more efficient long-term and prevents you from losing crucial aspects of the design. I used to scribble important notes on scraps of paper, never to be found again, or if I did find them, they'd be unreadable. I'm now much more likely to have references explaining why I was pursuing a certain piece of work and what sources inspired it. This helps me click back into the creative process far more easily, especially when returning to something after time away.

What is the End Goal

What would you consider to be a achievable goal for Some Pretentious Art in the next couple of years I have delusions of grandeur about working on Some Pretentious Art full-time. Perhaps, I would have a running list of projects, getting enough support to be economically viable. More realistically, an achievable goal is establishing a regular routine where I can produce good work on a weekly basis. I would love to just have the ability to continually explore lots of different ideas. Similarly, having a schedule that allows me to document the process and interact with an audience who can help me develop my style further. In three years, I'd love to be producing artwork regularly, surrounded by other creators in a studio environment; bouncing ideas off each other, putting on shows together. I think that’d be great.

Why is building a community important in relation to the importance of building a portfolio Having a portfolio is more important than having an audience. Without a portfolio, you don't have an audience. I know the frustration of creating artwork that feels like it deserves recognition, wanting people who'd be interested to actually be able to interact with it. A good way to explain it would be looking at music albumS. When I love an album it is because it is able to capture and re-express emotion, human experience and atmosphere. I'd love for someone to look at my work and have that same experience. Whether they want to see more, share it with others, or just have that quiet moment of reflection from something I produced would be great. But having a community who interacts with your work is crucial because you need criticism. You need people who say they enjoy it. You need active interaction rather than producing for production's sake. There's massive privilege in creating and having an artistic outlet for emotions, but the next step is having that portfolio of visually expressed feelings and interacting with it on a greater scale. That sparks new interests, different conversations, and lets you explore the artwork and its purpose to a fuller extent.

How can Some Pretentious Art have commercial success without compromising its Design Ethos Through self-regulation and external concern. When you have a gut feeling about commercial work that doesn't sit right, you listen and evaluate. Some Pretentious Art has a design ethos, a visual identity, a philosophy. If a piece of work conflicts with aspects of that ethos, you don't stray from it. These principles were created as a safety mechanism; ensuring I'm not creating work that's useless, destructive, or has negative impact. When I say external concern, what I mean is to ensure you talk to people whose opinions you respect when you're uncomfortable about a project. See if their understanding of the situation aligns with yours. It's a constant health check; making sure design principles show up in the little things. When making big decisions, don't rush. Do your homework. Find out why, when, how, and who.

What We Make

Why do you try and make sure that every piece has a story that you feel you need to explain As a kid, I loved visiting Tate Modern. I think this came as a rejection of my history-loving family; we were constantly visiting churches on holiday, looking at centuries-old buildings with weather-worn gargoyles and stained glass windows. I was drawn to modern art because it was so obviously different. Weird, wacky, sometimes extraordinarily basic, other times complicated for complication's sake. You'd see a red cube on a plinth and think, "What is this? This is pointless, I could do that." Which is both true and completely missing the point. The fascinating part was walking up to read the footnotes — learning the red cube was a political statement, an artistic rejection, or even an in - joke. I found the research behind the artwork almost more important than the artwork itself. This subsequently made me enjoy visiting churches because I'd research the context; why the building held social, political, or religious significance - rather than just seeing stone, mortar, and glass. You see a Monet or Van Gogh and they're truly spectacular; the colours, contrast, emotions they evoke are magical. But my interest peaks knowing what went into creating that beauty, not just experiencing it in isolation. That's why I ensure every piece has a story that can be explained. The exploration of self; understanding why you think, act, and create in particular ways - that is what interests me about art and life. Focusing on the why rather than just the how

How does it differ when you make art for commission as opposed for making it for yourself I try to limit this difference as much as possible. I create a piece of work, set a price, then anyone can buy it. This protects against situations where a client has a specific vision and I'm reverse - engineering what they want. I'm not selling artwork to make sales. I'm creating art and hopefully finding people who think it is interesting. If they want to buy it so I can fund making more work, that's the attitude I have. That said, there are practical requirements when someone's paying for your work. People might want something similar to what you've designed before and take less of a gamble on something new. The best approach is just by having conversations about style, timeline, and price. I'm happy to show work in progress and pre - sell unfinished pieces, but first I need to ensure clients understand my ethos. I won't recreate old work for recreation's sake, only when I find genuine value diving deeper into subject matter I haven't fully investigated.

What pieces of work do you consider a success? How does this affect the types of work you choose to pursue I have quite a basic understanding of success: it's when I create something I feel comfortable sharing with others. If I'm unhappy with a piece because it's not a direct translation of what I built in my head, I don't feel comfortable showing it; because it's not a correct representation of what I tried to make. But that doesn't mean unsuccessful pieces aren't useful. Failure is a fantastic part of life where you discover new techniques or styles you didn't think you could do. So there are pieces I don't feel comfortable sharing that are still rewarding because they taught me things, helped me decide to pursue a different piece that fully explores a weakness or oddity I think deserves more attention. Success for me is feeling I've created something worthy of other people's attention. Whether they like it or not, if I'm comfortable showing it to others, that's a success.

Shaping A Design Style

Who are the artists and creators that fundamentally changed how you see the world It's genuinely impossible to choose just a handful. One’s creative influences are constantly evolving; you're drawn to a design movement, you consume an artist's work, you try to recreate it, and inevitably your subconscious takes over. What you've been absorbing leaks through your visual mind and hopefully ends up on paper. What comes to mind is Basquiat. He had this ability to create work that had childlike simplicity and a life- hardened complexity. But what struck me most was how his personality bled directly into what he created. This is why I think you can't separate the art from the artist. Even choosing anonymity is a decision that creates mystery around the work. If I had to name more names; Wes Anderson, Denis Villeneuve, Tarantino, Spike Lee. Musically, Kid Cudi, MFDOOM, Hans Zimmer, Mac Miller or Seal. For actual artists I just like what I like. I'm drawn to people who've spent years obsessing over their craft; whether that's film directors, musicians, visual artists, or architects. They take this magical creation living in their brain and somehow translate it onto a physical or sonic medium you can actually experience.

Why is it important for you at Some Pretentious Art us "Designed With Soul" That's how I think art should be defined. You don't put pen to paper or move pixels around a screen for no reason. Designing with soul is the process of physically manifesting your feelings, lived experience, and future worries. Art has always been a reflection of the times, the character, the mindset; you can't separate the two. In an increasingly digital age, AI can produce visually stunning work through clever prompts and previous examples. You could print it on high - quality paper, hang it in a museum, and people would be impressed. But people need to relate to someone, to a story. At Some Pretentious Art, we believe you can use AI to help visualise concepts or conduct research; but things should ultimately be done by hand, infused with emotion. I think it important that there should be parts of your design where you don't really make conscious decisions. Instead, you rely upon the subconscious, letting past experience form composition and colour. That's different from AI using color theory to tell you a certain shade portrays a certain emotion. We're trying to create art for people, by people.

What are some of the design features that you feel are distinctly yours This is hard to answer because I think my response will be by definition oxymoronic; I don't think I have a style because I just make what I want to make, but by definition that is a style in of itself. I guess if I were to be highly introspective, I'm drawn to human physical features, particularly eyes. The traditional saying is right; eyes are windows into the soul. They can hold and show so much pain, jubilation, anguish. They're incredibly descriptive in their ability to portray years of sorrow or forgiveness. I also incorporate heavy use of text, font, and music to communicate what each piece needs to say. Through my lived experience, I can design something that describes exactly how I'm feeling; but someone else's personal history might interpret those visual elements completely differently. Text and audio help me tell the story as accurately as possible. There's a certain freedom in creating what I want to create, very much in the moment. I don't normally do long projects or series in a particular genre. My art is created when I see something interesting and want to test whether I can recreate, personalise, and improve it.

What We Want To Become

Some Pretentious Art is evolving into a studio that balances creative freedom with collaborative community. A space where curiosity drives diverse projects across multiple disciplines, supported by makers who share processes honestly and push each other towards work never possible alone. Personal vision amplified through collective energy.

Building Together, Not Alone

A Creative Community

We want to be able to from a thriving environment where like-minded creators share honest processes and support one another.

A space where ideas flow freely, knowledge is exchanged generously, and a dedicated Some Pretentious Art team helps achieve things never possible in isolation.

Following Curiosity Across Disciplines

Diverse Creative Practice

We want to maintain the freedom to explore whatever subjects captivate attention most; exhibitions, cultural projects, immersive events, installations, and other ventures.

Work spanning different mediums and approaches, always with humanity at the heart, where artistic vision meets purposeful impact in unexpected ways.

Get In Touch!

Phone

07576801350

Email

SomePretentiousArt@outlook.com

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What We Want To Become

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Our Story

Get to Know Us

Q&A

What We Want To Become

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Our
Story