Ricardo Ajcivinac is an Ink Artist from Guatemala. His work is so magnificently detailed in a contemporary pointillist style. I’m thrilled to introduce him as this month’s Artist Takeover! Over to you Ricardo…
Please can you give me an introduction about who you are and what you do?
Hello I'm Ricardo Ajcivinac, more commonly known as NEAR; I'm a Guatemalan based multidisciplinary artist and designer. I love everything about drawing, illustration, murals, graffiti and graphic design.
Since 2007 I've participated in many local exhibitions and in 2010 I was on the cover for the January edition of Digital Arts; in 2011 I was selected as the 3rd. place for the latin american solo category, in the All Ironlak Graffiti Competition 2010; in 2014 I participated in the Meeting of Styles Mexico and since 2016 I've been working as a tattoo artist and have travelled to Iceland, London, Amsterdam, France, Argentina and more to tattoo.
When did you start drawing?
Since I was a little kid; I remember I was always copying Dragon Ball characters and when I was a bit older, maybe 11-12, I started to listen to bands and I used to copy the CD covers, replicating them in different techniques like pencil, ink, markers and crayons, around this time I was also attending a free art school on Sundays, mostly to learn the fundamentals of each technique.
What appeals to you most about what you do?
The infinite possibilities, I know that everything has already been drawn before by somebody else but it's always nice to come up with a new approach for the same subject and give it your own style.
If you had to start again, what advice would you give yourself?
Just keep drawing, prioritise and be more focused on your craft and lees on distractions, there will be time for parties later ;-)
What are the best resources you’ve found online or elsewhere that helped you get started?
DeviantArt, there used to be a lot of good tutorials about almost everything, from traditional art to digital illustration and more; nowadays you can find anything on YouTube, it’s such a great tool if you use it to your advantage.
Who are the artists/individuals that inspire you most and where can we find them?
Just to name a few that have had a big influence in my work.
Australian Artist Sofles
US artist Jason Revok
Grindesign Tatoos by Rob Borbas
Illusrtator Calvin Laituri
Greg Simkins of Craola
French Artist Xavier Casalta
Tattoo Artist Mike Giant