Name - Stefan Lucut
Age - 21
Born - Romania
Status - Designer/Artist
Style - Abstract/Surrealism

What was your child hood like?
Oh man…. it was like the wild, wild, west. Yeah, I was born in 1986 in Ploiesti, kind of a small city. I live in a wild hood full of gipsy and their horses, full of gang battles between gypsy gangs; it was defiantly a difficult time to live there. However, my parents were so careful taking care of us. I think it’s fair to say they looked after us well.

How did you first stumble upon the art world?
Since the age of 14, I discovered that I loved to paint and draw. From then I attended Art High School and it was just a small step into digital art. But, yeah, I had a teacher called Rita Badulesc which I respected a lot because she helped me to be the person who I am now. She gave me the first step.

Who are your influences?
Oh yeah. I can tell you that everything inspires me, everything man! Nature, animals, people, other artist, emotions, life, etc. The list goes on.

In the shortest possible way, how would you describe your style?
Freestyle, color, overdose.

What’s the art scene like over in Romania?
In the last 2 years it has been going well. Romania provides the biggest digital art gallery from Europe , (Digital Art Gallery 115). Things are going well, but hell, I don’t want to stay here in Romania . Countries like the UK , Germany , Nederland ’s and others are far ahead. So, actually, in Romania the art scene sucks.

Inspirational country to live in, or don’t you get out much to see it?
Romania isn’t offering too much. I’ve seen it all, almost, and is not very impressive. I’ve seen Hungary, Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium, Austria and France, but I would like to live in Luxembourg, Sweden, UK, Australia, New Zealand or Africa. I really think I will be more inspired from these countries because of their natural history and culture. Romania is like a neat wine.

As time goes by, and in my opinion originality is retreating, how have you seen the art scene evolve from the years you remember as a child?
Definitely, it’s not the same as it used to be. A lot of the younger talents are on their way to becoming some of the biggest designers in the world. But, there are a lot of “so called designers” that don’t really know how to spend two hard days on a single piece of work, they end up ripping off other artists work. I am not totally against ripping off other artists work because it can teach you a lot, but you cannot be truly proud of the outcome. This is a big problem. If you rip off, or you imitated, don’t show it to anyone. Don’t be proud of it, keep it for yourself. Anyway, what about me? I can be responsible, only for my official portfolio - Stefanlucut.com - Learn how to create your own work.

If you had one wish, what would it be?
Try to live to 100 years of age.

Can you list a few of your mostly used possessions on your workspace?
If you are talking about software, I use Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and Dreamweaver. All of these are running on a “rocket” PC. I don’t even own a graphic tablet at the moment, however, I did have the chance to use one when I was at ‘Milc’. ‘Milc’ is a design studio based here in Romania where I was given the chance to design for them. I worked here at two months and it gave me the opportunity to get hands loose on one. A good friend of mine, Popescu Radu, will always make time for me to come round and let me use his tablet. He studies architecture and has much experience with the tablet. He will lend a hand with my illustrations whenever I need it. I have known this guy since I was twelve.I also have two cell phones, one is for talking exclusively with my girl and my mother, the other one is for the rest of the world. For my hand I have some pencils, block notes markers, etc. I also have a lot of other stuff because I love to draw and paint.

Who is the one person you look up to in life?
I was hoping you would ask me this. I really want to talk about my mum and dad. Yeah, my mother is the greatest mother and friend of mine. She knows how to manage things, make delicious food from nothing and knows how to give me good advice. She is hard-working, and at 43 years old she is looking GREAT. So Yeah, my mother is an example for all of you, trust me! But, don’t forget my father… he is just amazing. If you want to build a house, you need a single man, my father. He knows how to build everything. He learns fast. So, at 45 years old, he is strong and he has good knowledge. My parents are so important in what I have become. I hope one day, I can teach my kids what my parents have taught me.

I took a few minutes to check your personal web site out, I’m really feeling it. Where did the inspiration for the layout and color scheme come from?
I like this question. But, it wasn’t anything that inspired me here, it is just what I imagined. It’s just something minimal with a maximum of three colors, simple to use and very different.

How about your online portal, etcetering. What do future plans have in store. Is it just about sticking to what you are doing now and seeing where the web takes you?
Etcetering started from my idea to design a blog where I can bookmark all the things I like. So, in January 1st 2007 I started posting great artists on Etcetering. After one month a friend of mine helped me posting nice things on the site. Three or four months later we decided to make it into a design portal. What we post now is 50% for us, 50% for the visitors. But, it wasn’t enough for the community, so we wanted to give something more for them, that’s why we developed now two big projects. Sorry, I can’t tell you any more. All I can say is it’s about a book and a school, that’s it. To find out more you will need to stay close to the web site.

When did it sink in that you could make a career from what you take pleasure in doing?
I think that was two years ago when an architecture studio come to me and they told me, “Dude, we like your stuff. Would you be interested in designing us a website and our corporate identity?” I thought to myself, “Yeah, this could be my break.” They let me design whatever I imagined was best for them, and they also paid me a lot. Personally I think I did a great job, and their website is still my favorite work to this day. It was also really cool to be a part of that. I think it’s so cool to get money for something you really enjoy doing. I love my job.

Where do you see you and your art in the future?
Actually, I can’t see myself taking my art anywhere in the future because I want to focus on my design and typography. Definitely I will continue to make digital art, but not with the same passion. It will advance slow, but good. I really want to try and implement my artistic skills into commercial design and typography. Personal side of things, I just want to get married next year and have four kids.

You have massive talent, Stefan. If you give up art, can I have your works?
You can have them all.

Would you like to give any shout-outs?
“Beers are like all artists. Everyone is the best in the world.”