Illustrations are widely spread on social networks, but to be memorable, one must capture others’ attention with a distinctive style. Isaac Spellman, a wizard man who has been engaged in full-time creation shortly after graduation, has stood out from the crowd of illustrators with his eye-catching retro style. Starting from sharing fan art on social platforms, to being invited to create promotional animated drawings for idol Lady Gaga, in recent years, he has gained the favor of individuals from different sectors such as fashion brands, singers, celebrities, and local media.
Isaac, with his unique “retro-futuristic” style, brings together materials from different time and space, recreating aesthetic elements from different eras in his artwork, creating a unique dreamlike realm. Objects from the 1920s to the future are all included in his work. In the world he creates, everything shines brightly, free from the constraints of time and space, exuding a daunting magical power in every scene.
Isaac Spellmen is currently holding a solo exhibition “Lust For Life”. This episode of “Art City Travel Notes” will follow Isaac into the colorful retro territory, seeing how he combines retro and futuristic elements with current popular culture, showcasing various fantasies and desires for life, creating a magical world that is enchanting.
“Whether real or fictional, I hope that when the audience sees my paintings, they can automatically enter that magical world.”
During the era when magical movies were prevalent, we have been exposed to various films and TV shows since childhood that talk about supernatural powers. The unknown and curiosity have always made us soar, sparking our imagination of science fiction and magic. Isaac claims that the world of witches can provide him with a rich source of inspiration, whether it’s the more fantastical “Harry Potter,” the fairy tale-like “The Wizard of Oz,” or even the recent adaptation of historical legends in “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” all naturally infuse his world with elements of magic. The female protagonist Sabrina Spellman in “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” inspired him to come up with the idea of giving himself a surname rich in magical history, hence the name Isaac Spellmen was born.
And besides creating, Isaac also delves into divination, tarot, and other aspects. We are all very curious whether this sensitive spiritual intuition will affect his creations?
He expressed that spiritual divination does open up all senses, including a person’s intuition. Isaac feels that he observes things more deeply than others, such as feeling a person’s energy, colors, aura, and essence when looking at them. In addition to this sense, he also has an artist’s quality of observing things around him in detail, which leads to a unique vision that he applies in his creations.
Isaac’s paintings not only have surreal elements, but also reflect his preferences for interpersonal relationships, fashion, personal spirit, and popular culture. His works are colorful and rich in subject matter. It is not difficult to see his taste for life from the paintings, as he expresses his appreciation for things through his creations and shares what he considers beautiful through his artwork. The so-called magical world is actually synonymous with happiness.
“My aesthetics all started with Lady Gaga, meeting her was like a turning point in my life.”
Isaac’s work often features female protagonists, and his inspiration is closely tied to women. Growing up, his mother always played European and American music and movies, so he has a strong affinity for Western culture. Products from Europe and America, whether it’s music, movies, or visuals, are all filled with vibrant visual elements. This aesthetic for color has been ingrained in his heart since he was young.
And when it comes to the most profound inspiration that influenced him, the ever-changing queen of the music world, Lady Gaga, is definitely worthy of mention. He said, “She appeared during my adolescence, and everything I saw at that time, my aesthetics all started with her. Upon seeing her, life felt like exploding with information. She has been influencing me all this time, that exaggerated style, vibrant colors, and pursuit of art have greatly influenced my perception of art.”
Former little fans started sharing fan art on social media, and later were invited by Lady Gaga’s team to design GIFs for the “Super Bowl” performance, when he was still a sophomore in college. Although this “glorious feat” has long been talked about, I believe that no matter how many years later it is mentioned again, this is still a rare experience. However, compared to the countless times experiences have been talked about, we are more interested in knowing the impact of this on his creative career.
Isaac said, “Actually, besides satisfying my own vanity, this matter didn’t help me much.” But he was grateful that he didn’t become popular at that time. He shared, “The style back then was more immature, not so mature. If I had become popular back then, I might not have been able to handle many projects. I didn’t know how to negotiate with others at that time, and my style wasn’t easily recognizable by others, so looking back, it was a good thing. Because it allowed me to get into the industry, giving me a few years to settle and hone my skills.” After more than four years, the boy from back then seems to have found a clear path in the years after graduation.
Since then, Isaac has continued to post his work on social media platforms, and as a result, job opportunities have increased. In such a competitive creative market, there are countless talented individuals, but not everyone has the ability to make people remember their work. In the eyes of many, Isaac may be considered relatively lucky, as he not only paints for his idols but also collaborates with numerous brands, local record companies, fashion magazines, and even illustrated the cover and interior pages of the classic dystopian novel “Brave New World” for Cup this year, which is quite an achievement. However, rather than calling him lucky, discovering his own style and continuing to create is the key to his success. Because when the opportunity came, he was already prepared.
“My art combines the three dimensions of past, present, and future, unrestricted by time.”
“I have never liked black and white paintings because I see things in very colorful ways.”
Isaac’s daily creations are mainly done through digital drawing. Although he used watercolors and plastic colors in the past, he felt that this hand-drawn method could only use a limited range of colors. When he entered the world of digital drawing, he discovered endless possibilities in color matching and selection. Currently, all of his works are produced by an iPad. Being someone who already loves colorful things, he makes good use of the advantages of digital drawing to create colorful and vibrant works.
Viewers will easily notice that, regardless of the subject he paints, the color tones in his paintings all have a slightly retro feel. This retro flavor comes from the warm color tones on his canvas. Isaac mentioned that he first draws images on his iPad and then uses Photoshop for post-color correction. Therefore, each piece has a high saturation, orange-yellow tones, and a strong grainy visual effect, giving the work a nostalgic feel as if it were covered with a layer of old time, also with a hint of American film nostalgia.
However, Isaac’s paintings cannot be simply categorized as retro, he refers to his style as “retro-futurism,” meaning that in contemporary art, artists deliberately imitate early visions of futuristic styles and combine retro with surreal styles, incorporating both old and futuristic elements, presenting a parallel time and space in his artwork. He jokingly refers to his work as combining the past, present, and future, transcending time constraints and capturing every beautiful moment.
However, his love for fashion has been deeply influenced by retro style in terms of dressing. He said, “Maybe I’m a bit rebellious, I like to be different from others. Nowadays, most people dress for simplicity and cleanliness, but I prefer the retro colors and layers.” This love for vintage clothing extends to the characters in the paintings, with elegant Hepburn-style dresses, dignified suits, timeless pearl accessories, etc. The artist transforms into a fashion designer, creating outfits with a sense of era and vibrant colors for each exquisite character, allowing the audience to revisit fashion trends from different eras.
“I hope to create a utopia in the painting.”
However, when various retro elements dominate the artwork, does “nostalgia” necessarily mean “beauty”? Isaac has a unique perspective. He believes that the old days indeed had many beautiful things, but those eras also had many feudal and ugly ideas and systems. As someone who looks back on the past, he simply draws good things from the past ages and integrates them into the present or future.
He said, “I hope to create a utopia in my paintings. This utopia may not exist in reality, but the world in my paintings can be fictional or constructed by me. In my mind, the utopian world is where everyone is well-fed, lives in beautiful buildings, wears beautiful clothes, and can freely express their opinions; all kinds of creatures happily dance and sing in different corners, and this fairy tale world is constantly expanding subconsciously.”
In the reality of the cutting edge, artists carry with them a wish for the ideal, shaping a brand new world with their paintbrush. Broadly, he expresses, “This world may not truly exist, but at least in my eyes, it has established a world that is more peaceful and beautiful compared to the world.”
“The ‘Lust for Life’ solo exhibition is a great annual summary.”
In November of this year, Isaac finally showcased the enchanting world in his paintings to a wider audience. He collaborated with ZTYLEZ to launch a new art project, participating in the painting of the exterior walls of ZTYLEZ Art Space, and also holding a solo exhibition titled “Lust for Life” at the art space. Having mainly created digital art in the past, he had never worked on large-scale murals before, making this a new and significant endeavor for him. After 300 hours of collaborative work with the team, he successfully completed a mural on the exterior wall that was 15 meters long and 5.8 meters high, stating that the experience of creating a mural for the first time was very meaningful to him.
Isaac is passionate about retro aesthetics and loves the glamorous atmosphere of the era, drawing inspiration from “The Great Gatsby.” The mural depicts guests in elaborate evening gowns, sipping champagne; lovers waltzing; women hailing taxis; gentlemen riding white horses; and even a tiger lounging on a building, all depicting extravagant scenes full of joy, showcasing a magnificent era.
However, looking back at the movie and the original work, the story actually implies that this glamorous life is ultimately just a dream, revealing that the warmth and coldness of human relationships are the core ideas behind it. As for Isaac, what message does he hope this mural will convey to the audience?
Isaac said, “Actually, I don’t just want to focus on that luxurious and wealthy lifestyle. In reality, I am also a very ordinary person. Although I don’t buy designer brands, I appreciate designer brands and fashion. I hope this work can convey to others: even if the environment is not very affluent, you can still try to appreciate some beautiful things.” He believes that everyone’s background and preferences are different, but when it comes to appreciating “beauty,” we are all equal.
When we ask if the world in the painting is entirely a projection of his inner self, he laughs and says he has long been living in that world. The richness of his inner self gives him the energy to create beauty, infecting the audience with a joyful mood through his work. The truth or falsehood of the world in the painting is no longer important; what matters is that the artist has a belief in creating beauty and spreads a positive energy through his creations.
Isaac brings 15 selected paintings in the “Lust for Life” exhibition, focusing on music, fashion, and self-exploration. He combines his love for popular culture, using digital drawing techniques to depict retro fashion aesthetics from the 20s to the 80s, interspersed with many popular elements of today’s celebrities, songs, and movies, making it a dazzling sight. When talking about the concept of the exhibition theme, he said, “Many people live too blandly, losing passion for life, or being smoothed out by society, gradually losing passion for work and the pursuit of the future. I hope that through this exhibition, I can bring back to the audience a love and pursuit of vitality in life.”
He shared, “Today’s solo show is a pretty good summary of the year.” First, he challenged himself with mural painting, which he rarely had contact with, and then successfully held a personal exhibition with the assistance of the Ztylez team. Although he has held small solo exhibitions in the past, whether it is framing, exhibition layout, promotion, etc., he had to do it all himself. Now being able to work with a team, he is excited and grateful for it.
Looking back on the events of this year, Isaac considers the past year to be “wonderful.” Work came one after another, from designing the cover of Yang Tianming’s fortune book at the beginning of the year, participating in collaborations with brands and institutions, designing covers for classic works, to participating in the “Affordable Art Fair” exhibition, and in November, collaborating with Ztylez on an art project and solo exhibition. He jokingly refers to this as a fulfilling year.
He expressed that in the past, illustrations were always considered unimportant in the art market. For example, in art fairs, most of the exhibits are sculptures, oil paintings, photographs, etc., and it is rare to see people who work with pure digital drawing or illustrations enter this circle. For a long time, illustration creation has been seen as a way to assist in expressing text, often playing the role of conveying aesthetic and documentary concepts. However, as illustration has matured, this creative method is no longer limited to any form of information dissemination, but can become a standalone carrier of thoughts and emotions. Isaac also stated that he is slowly building his own personal value in this creative mode.
As time passes, each era is filled with unknowns and endless possibilities. Isaac uses the essence of aesthetics from different eras to create an ideal place that transcends time and space with dazzling colors. Through the digital drawing creations and large murals in this exhibition, everyone is invited to step into his colorful kingdom. Aesthetics always circulate endlessly, needing time to brew slowly. Let us pause and appreciate this artistic newcomer’s “magical world” created in a corner of the city.
The mural created by Isaac Spellmen will be open to the public from now until February 28, 2022 at Ztylez Art Space, and the artist’s solo exhibition “Lust for Life” will also be held at the same location from now until January 2, 2022. The art space is open to the public for free on Saturdays and Sundays, visitors need to make reservations online, and everyone is welcome to come and visit!
Isaac Spellmen: “Lust for Life” Exhibition and Murals
Location: G/F, TML Plaza, 3 Hoi Shing Road, Tsuen Wan
Date: Saturdays and Sundays starting from November 28
Time: 12pm – 7pm
Reservation: https://bit.ly/316UPYy
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Producer: Vicky Wai
Editor: Ruby Yiu
Videography: Andy Lee
Photography: Andy Lee, Timmy Cheung
Video Editor: Andy Lee
Designer: Edwina Chan
Location: Ztylez Art Space
Special Thanks: Isaac Spellman
Learn more and book a visit: ZTYLEZ ART SPACE
