Andrew Khosravani
- Text by Shelley Jones
- Illustrations by Andrew Khosravani
Andrew Khosravani is a London-based illustrator and animator who’s worked with a range of cool brands from skate-related stuff like Slam City Skates and 79TH to Hoxton boutique gallery KK Outlet and progressive art collab project Forage Press.
His beautifully trippy and incredibly detailed drawings mix dark and euphoric imagery for a psychedelic style that is both sublime and a bit creepy. We caught up with the next-level sketcher, whose otherworldly characters and scenes are rendered in bright colours and woozy lines, to find out what inspires his day-to-day making.
Things That Inspire Me
by Andrew Khosravani
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
Everybody needs to listen to Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born in the USA and Nebraska. It’s a must. I sometimes daydream about being a construction worker from New Jersey just so the Boss would write a song about me.
Radiolab
For those of you haven’t heard of Radiolab, it’s a radio show from New York that focuses on really interesting neurological and scientific stories and experiments. It sounds a bit boring but it’s seriously gripping (and sometimes heart-wrenching stuff). I like to listen to the podcasts while I’m drawing to pass the time. There’s a really good one about Fritz Haber which would turn your stomach inside out.
Religion and Mythology
I’m really interested in tribes and civilisations from around the world. Most of my illustration work is inspired by ancient civilisations and their deities. Recently I’ve been looking into Alaskan medicine men and shamans who are really fascinating. My mum is from Brazil so tribes from South America also intrigue me. Also I really, really like Indiana Jones.
ATP at Butlins / Camber Sands
I know it’s over now, but man they were fun. Just a load of guys with beards wearing Sun Ra t-shirts talking about bands you’ve never heard of that play instruments you didn’t think existed. What more do you need? Plus some great bands played too just to seal the deal.
Shitty Skate Spots / Bad Weather
When I was a kid I would skate every day. Even in winter, we would grab bin bags and wrap our boards in them, then proceed to walk a mile uphill in the rain to skate some shitty undercover car park. Even after all that we would probably get kicked out (cheers Sony). I guess that same thing that motivated me to go skating every day is still evident in what motivates me now. When you really love something, you are prepared to do it even in crap circumstances just so you can do what you enjoy.
You can see more of Khrosravani’s rad work on his website.
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