Q&A with Twenty Ninth Street Studio’s Archie Denning
Growing up in Armidale, Archie Denning draws inspiration for his art from the beautiful changing seasons of the New England region. A man of many hats, he also helps small businesses with their marketing and copywriting needs. To find out more about what inspires Archie and hear about his exciting upcoming exhibition – keep reading.
Tell us a little about Twenty Ninth Street Studio?
I grew up in Armidale and started Twenty Ninth Street Studio in late 2019 to cover design needs for small businesses, start-ups and community groups – my main focus being fliers, logos, brochures, copywriting, social media content and websites. Moving on from there, Twenty Ninth Street Studio has also become a space to advertise and display my artworks with an online gallery and stockroom coming soon.
Why do you create?
I create art because I love interpreting the environment – reimagining what I’ve seen, whether it’s from a photo or painting en plein aire. I love graphic design because good design can be functional art and also have a timeless quality.
What inspires you?
For art, it’s the environment – whether that’s the vast changing scenes of the New England, the intensity and beauty of the outback, or the drama of a seascape. When it comes to design, fonts excite me, from old letterpress blocks to carved stone monuments, early 20th century printed advertising and timeless logos.
What do you have planned for the future?
I have an exhibition coming up called ‘On The Road’ at the Get Framed Armidale Gallery in September, and have been madly working on a few entries for the Gosford and Hawkesbury Art Prizes based on works from a week away on a houseboat on the Hawkesbury.
If you could give someone one piece of advice about becoming an artist, what would it be?
Draw every day, exercise the muscle. All my great art mentors tell me the same thing, it doesn’t have to be formal, just 10 minutes sketching whatever's in front of you. Don’t be afraid of making that first mark on the page and dive in.
Get in touch
Website: Twenty Ninth Street Studio
Instagram: Twentyninthstreetstudio
