Artist-Ashley Gray

Q)How did your journey as an artist begin?
I would say it began a few years after university around 2011-13 my focus before was just making games art stuff as all graduate I'm sure were doing. one of my images got an award from a industry website and another one of my works was stolen by a school to promote their course but I didn't find a job in the industry, for around 2 years I did odd jobs until found myself in a meat factory, I didn't have a lot of time or energy so I started to just draw things and then slowly from there I started to get some traction online, I uploaded to more websites and then after more credits online for a few years I started to do gallery's, interviews and magazines.

Q)What are the different forms of artworks that you do?
Only digital, I'm not a writer or I don't do painting or anything like this, for now just digital art, though people have been asking that I try painting for whatever reason that is.
But if you are speaking about themes or like motifs I would say my focus is on reflections of life, these can be broken into to main forms personal reflections of self and reflections of life. I spend a fair bit of time think about reality and the world that we as human beings have created for ourselves, it is not an easy one, we are kind of forced to enure things because we ultimately lack agency and this is an element? Of our suffering, I kind of hover around this grief of reality.

Q)What is idea behind it and what does it signifies from a layman perspective?
The idea behind my art? I would say it is to connect with people, I think most art is about connection, the difference is the type of connection made. For me I try and connect with people on the contemplation of life, about the quite grief we find in the more personal moments, we are all here together and at times we can all step back and see the more discreet pressure of the world that we are also impart creating individually and collectively, there is this phrase: you only have one life. And in the same way for me I also think you only have one world, there is only one existence.

Q)What is that one line or quote that you abide by in your life or you would like others to follow?
That you can never know someone, at best I have my perceived view. its just something I keep in mind, it keeps me from jumping to too many conclusions, ideas about peoples agendas and motives for their actions etc. Sure there are many people who are for lack of a better word evil but for the most part I tend to think or from what I hear that there is to much focus on others or how we are perceived or to project something that we believe will lead to us being treated a certain way. I feel strongly that life is hard enough without any of this and it is something that we can ease very easily if we respect each other.

Q)Please tell us a bit about an artwork of yours which you like the most?
Ethereal Blue, for now this is my best work it is a reflection on the substance? Of humanity, that there is an element of humans that bring meaning to the void that is the universe, a reminder that creating life is a immense power but that shaping reality is also a great responsibility. The background is of space with a single boy standing in the centre as lights or stars swirl around him.
Without stars space would just be a black void much like the universe without life, human beings are the stars of reality, much like space the stars are there to be seen because they hold significance especially in the grander scheme of space. The stars make space beautiful to look at and change the void into something of wonder, in the same way life and humanity make the universe and reality a wonderful experience, but when I look outside my window, I see a problem a suffocation of this.

Q)How have you been keeping up during the pandemic and what are the new things that you have started?
Because of my job, I was working full time during the pandemic, so it was mostly normal day to day although travel on the days that I had to was much easier, I did get to work from home a fair bit which was nice, never really had that before I assume like most people. This gave me the chance to make a shift into the art world, there are a lot of things I had to learn and do a lot of set up things, I was lucky enough to find a supplier of materials not to far from me where as I started looking in London I just had more time and it defiantly helped me. I'm still learning so many things but that space gave me the time to be more confident things would work and put in a lot of the ground work, as a digital artist for a fair few years I was getting some offers and interest but I was not in the right position to engage with them, and because I now have some structure in place I can now do some things.

Q) What are the challenges you face while working on any artwork?
There are two main sides to this for me, one is faith, ability and worth etc and the other is a more technical. For the technical I'm sure many people are also thinking of the correct colour to use or the perspective of the image, for me a lot of time is spent refining the final shot before the 2D aspect. But then also faith and worth, again I'm sure many creatives think what I do has to be good, but you cant really know, I have made things I like that the audience? doesn't and things I don't really like that people like. For me I don't want to look lazy, I do try and stay away from grand zbrush sculptures with lots of details that are just coloured, but I also try and stay away from doodling something with a quick colour up.
I usually do 2-4 paint ups of any one artwork before I show the final because it is rare that I make the 3D and then do the 2D paint up all in one go very well, there is always a element of “maybe the next paint up will be better? Closer” I refer to it as essence, the essence of the art work, I do my best to capture this well, its like a visual energy.

Q) What is the thought process while choosing your next artwork?
I have a few art things that kind of pull on me and whatever one of those things wins out is next, I have a artwork log? A list of 20 or so very strong ideas that I will never make them all but there is a list so if nothing is happening for me I just do the next one on the list because I know the grounding and idea for the piece is strong, these ideas have formed over much time. Then there are events and life that happens that at times just pull me to make something for example my image Be Brave is made because of the pandemic. Finlay sometimes I have these dreams or I think it can also be stress or some type of pressure? an idea just come to you, its very strong it kind of grips you for a week or so, its the more intense process, where as with the other two methods I'm not just constantly drawing them until they are done its more relaxed.

Q)What are the best resources that have helped you in your way?
The internet? The internet is the way I got to be here from a guy making images in his bedroom: social media and connections, videos and learning material, music and film. When I was a digital only artist the internet allowed me to gain some credit and then later doing international shows for example are only possible for me due to email and invitations I receive from my website or social media. So I would say just keep putting yourself out there, find a space because again the internet is so big it will help you find a space, I have been on a fair few discontinued websites such as TalentHouse, Graphicker and CGSociety. I don't know places that have like tutorials or any secret place but YouTube has many ZBrush speed sculpts and I like to watch these kind of thing as everyone has their own way of doing things but I think that's more from university pastimes so I enjoy it more.

Q)What advice would you give to a young artist following in your steps?
Believe in yourself, this is the single greatest piece of advice I can give, but its not so much everything is magic just sit around wishing, more a: whoever you are you can travel the distance. There was a time where I didn't know ZBrush existed, that I didn't know how to use Photoshop or even had a computer, where my power would run out and I would lose my file. Lived in a space where I would rather do anything other than practice but practice, where there were months of grinding being frustrated and feeling defeated over and over. I didn't think I could go to university, didn't think I could complete a masters, didn't think I could be a top 25 artist on any website, didn't think I would win any award digital or actual.
Believe you can make it, why not you? Don't bash yourself, why not you? This is one of my greatest mistakes looking back and I had a lot of help to believe, but I couldn't not put myself in such a vulnerable position which is still valid to me, but now its something I reflect on.

Q)Who is your Inspiration ?
Artistically it would be classical artists and creatives people who were in touch with some type of universal darkness or reality that I myself were drawn to, creatives like Edvard Munch, Edgar Allan Poe and Francisco Goya the way they capture the essence, I'm sure there are many more that I am unaware of but they are the people I was drawn to their confidence to show and express the things they did. But also 3d artists that have insane talent, artists like Viki Yeo, Mike Thompson, Raf Grassetti and Mars Studio. Naturally these people have a lot of talent and experience in the industry but they each have a very strong style that I have admired for many years.

Q)Would you like to tell about your achievements?
That I am grateful for each of them, no one has to do anything.
I would say my first notable credit was from CGSociety in 2011 I got another Editors Choice in 2017 from them also, then the Peoples Choice Award from Creativepool in 2023 this was a defining achievement for me, something I thought imposable. Then later a Van Gogh Tribute Art Prize credit from International Cultural Management in 2024. Here is where I went all in on the shift to art after another defining achievement in winning the Premier Artist Prise in 2025 from Contemporary Art Station. I also had 2 top 25 artist spots one on Graphicker for around 5 years before it closed and also Creativepool where I have been rank 1 digital artist for around 5 years as well as a few other things, but these things give you a view of my journey of credit that has influence over my direction.

Q)Can you tell us about the process of making your artwork in short ?
Its two stages, first the 3d stage I sculpt the scene in a 3d environment, I use ZBrush.
Building a picture in the 3d space where I will decide the final camera placement for the shot. Then I take lots of renders from ZBrush with different settings and materials, lighting sets etc into Photoshop. Here in the 2D phase I will blend the render layers together with paint layers to get the final 2D image.
3d drawing with colour and then 2d drawing with colours.

Q)What's coming up for you ,what are you working on?
Shows and galleries, I have two more this year, Milan again and then also Venice and I also have two set for next year also in different country's so there is a lot of planning timing and logistical things that I didn't have to consider in my digital only days, but I feel its much better to do actual shows with actual images on the wall the audience can buy their directly.
As for what I'm working on this is two things, currently making a image of a balloon, that's all I can say I'm sure that will come soon, I also want to enter the Creativepool annual next year, they are so so nice to me I have to say, I kind of rushed it this year after not entering last year, I'm a bit more focused on making an honourable effort soon as I did so well this year with what I had. But the thing I'm working on mostly is just trying to become a stable artist, I feel very lucky to have the credits I do although yes I have worked very hard for many many years to get them and build my style and creative voice, I hope that my work can now do some of the lifting so I have the space to create.