West Coast illustrations by Felix Roos
Born in Sweden, Felix Roos is a California lover who decided to settle down in San Francisco Bay Area, to draw looking out at the sea. He paints sober pieces of life with summery soft colours. Recently graduated from the Academy of Arts University, Felix is sharing with us his passion for colours harmony and North America…
Hi Felix! You live in California now but you were born in Sweden. In what ways can your Scandinavian influences be found in your illustrations?
I am not sure if they can. My Illustrations, style and aesthetics are heavily influenced by my time in California and as far as I am concerned the only Scandinavian thing about my illustrations might be me!
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Where does your passion for art stem from?
I don’t think I could pin point a moment in time, trigger, or event that suddenly sparked the passion but there is something to be said about the fulfilment, and feeling of actually creating ‘something’. In some ways my passion for art is not so much about a deep desire of self-expression but rather so I can go to bed at night knowing I did something today, that I’ll be proud of tomorrow.
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We notice you often use pastel colours on your Instagram account. What mood do you want to give to your creations ?
If I had to coin a term for it I’d go with sombre summer. It’s colourful and vibrant but you happen to be enjoying it from indoors. Pastels naturally enforce this idea in the sense that they seem to instantly harmonize. A red will gladly live next to a blue, a green next to an orange, a pink next to a yellow, and no one seems to steal the show. In essence I love the idea of the colours feeling level headed and quiet while the vibrancy still shines through the shades.
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If you had to compare your illustrations to a genre of music, what would it be ?
I’d probably go with Surf-rock!
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Why choose to collaborate with OLOW ?
I love a good shirt as much as the next guy.
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What do you enjoy most about California ?
It’s got the best that America has to offer! Good people, good food, great music, cities, oceans, mountains, snow, all year summers but most importantly humungous avocados.
Where’s the best spot to admire the San Francisco Bay from ?
Up at Coit Tower. You get a great view of the bay bridge, the golden-gate bridge, and my apartment.
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Is there a Californian artist in particular you’d like to tell us about ?
I suppose it depends on what you’re looking for but Brendan Monroe aka Brendantheblob is a long time favourite of mine. There’s nothing quite like it.
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What does England inspire you compared to North America ?
I have always had a love for landscape painters, William Turner in particular. So I would say I turn (no pun intended) to England for work that’s old, traditional and rooted in history and North America for the new, vibrant and maybe even commercial.
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What are your projects for the coming months ?
I have a pile of inspiration, a note book full of ideas and the projects to come will be to find the time to put those ideas on paper.
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A Swedish last word ?
Min bror tycker jag målar fult, kan han ha rätt ?
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Many thanks to Felix for his answers !
