A Small Introduction

As this series of the Wild Saints begins, perhaps a little illustrated biographical introduction may be nice for you to see and read, so as not to be another complete stranger on the internet. My full name is Ewan Lochiel Stewart Craig, now with a name like that you’d think I’d have whiskey flowing in my veins, sporting kilts and Shetland wool, but I am a wee bit under half Scottish, it just so happens that my father has a love of Scottish history, particularly Scottish generals of the Jacobite period, och aye.

Like mostly all creative people will say, I was one of those kids who was always drawing, it was mostly tanks and knights. I remember having to draw a portrait of Hitler for a school play whilst at primary school. It wasn’t very good, it looked like angry moustache man. During secondary school my interest in art and drawing waned, mostly because I became interested in rugby, Top Gear and girls. It was during GCSE that it was picked up again and I started to get back into the swing of drawing, though the work created then was shoddy, but it was a start in the right direction. I would say it improved slightly during A Levels all thanks to my new love of JMW Turner, he caused a visceral response in me and has once bought me to produce one (manly) tear at the beauty of it. I of course tried to be like Turner in painting:

Like oh so many, I found myself at 18 not knowing what on earth to do, but I knew it had to be something to do with making images. A fine art degree seemed to be the option, but I was very unimpressed with the work I saw at University open days, at the time I wanted to know how to paint yet I saw no paintings, but a lot of vague conceptual art. I thought the next best thing would be something that appeared to have a more grounded path which was illustration. I studied at Winchester School of Art, it was an interesting time of fun and games but also being very confused. This was a time of awakening to the cold realities of this age, and scrambling around like a headless chicken trying to find a doorway out of it. I don’t like the work I made then much, it was quite psychedelic, made with some vague notion about energies and the kind of limp ‘spirituality’ you find in a new age bong shop. But here is an example of some collage work I did in my final year there.

When that came to an end I felt rather empty, other than knowing how to cut pieces of paper and the odd bit of photoshop I felt like I didn’t really learn a tangible skill or a grounded sense of personhood. My mother is a historic architect, restoring old buildings. She showed me an old school that stone carvers she had worked with went to, and I was flawed that an art school teaching traditional skills still existed! I did some work to prepare a portfolio and thankfully found a place. This was also just after the time I reluctantly stumbled upon Christianity. I suppose I was one of the many wanting to seek truth, and found a renewed interest in the Bible due to Jordan Peterson and Jonathon Pagaeu, once that was setting in, a mixture of strange happenings and vivid dreams set the score, prayer begun and I knew it to be true. There is a strange shift happening, the dullery/drudgery of modern certainty is leading us back to wanting to know wonder and mystery again, and there is no short supply of this in the Christian tradition. The time at C&GOLAS was wonderful, skills were learnt, and there was a kiln there which allowed me to have a go at ceramics also (I even met my fiancé there). I find it funny to see such a twisting change of work I’ve made over these periods, I reckon it’s due to not being truly settled or comfortable in one style. There is far too much wonderful artworks created to have a style set in stone.

Examples of work made at C&GOLAS:

Here I am now, under a year into starting a small practice. Before this was a full time occupation, I worked part-time at a local café and shop which gave me an opportunity to make work for service and the shop in ceramics, this was the start of things happening. Since then I am always excited to receive commissions and very grateful at the opportunities that have arisen this past year. I am hoping to move into more iconographic works in the Orthodox lineage and have been deeply inspired by the Romanesque period. I am extremely delighted to be working with Paul on the Wild Saints series, I have no idea where this may all lead but I am glad to come along. Do get in touch if you would like anything carved!

ewancraig-art.com