Kingsley Nebechi - Pompey Plantet

His father was an architect, so he was always around art from a young age, but it wasn't until he enrolled in college on an Art and Design course 3 years ago that he chose to pursue a creative career. Kingsley Nebechi is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator originally from Italy, but now lives in North London. He recently launched a project called entitled Pompey Plantet down in Portsmouth, which has featured on BBC News reflecting the ‘iconic parts of the city’.

I thought I’d catch up with Kingsley himself to find out his inspirations, sacrifices and goals for the future.

‘I always draw not only as hobby but as a way to express my mood, visions and thoughts. My dad is an architect, so when I was younger I would always see him drawing houses, people and vehicles on a big canvas in our house back in Italy. He used to take me to this architecture studio', for Kingsley, this is where he found his love for art, he explains ‘I would find myself observing the other architects work on the variety of canvases and as I grew older, no matter what stage I was in my life, I would always draw’. He then made the conscious decision to make it a career in his first year of college, which is where he started an Art and Design course. 

When asked if he’s experienced any difficulties so far he says ‘there's been quite a few, especially when you're in the positions I'm in’, he explains ‘the biggest difficulty is how hard you choose to work and what you choose as a motivational source. I believe that if you want to go far in this type of field you need to be able to love what you do and work as hard as you can. During my journey, so far, I have come across so many designers who are motivated by money and you can clearly see it in their work too. At times this profession might get harder than usual and if you don't have love for what you do you might find it impossible to carry on'.

’My work means various things to me. I'm extremely fascinated by human emotions, life and poetry so most of the work I do has some sort of feeling and movement. My work helps me express myself a lot too and allows me to show a different side of me. He recently created a project called ‘Pompey Planet’ for the south sea gallery in Portsmouth', which he feels has brought him the most recognition and has been his biggest, project so far. He has gained a lot of positive  feed back and ‘the locals love it’ which has landed him with ‘some very interesting opportunities’. In his view ‘the illustrations show the iconic parts of the city. I've had the pleasure to contribute to great projects and exiting opportunities’.

'I'm influenced by a lot of things but my biggest inspiration has to be the town I grew up in’, in this case he means Poggibonsi in Florence; he recalls ‘the place is beautiful and the memories of my childhood are something I can never forget. It gives me inspiration when I need it the most. The company I would love to work for has to be Ilovedust down in Southsea. I've had the chance to meet the guys over there and I must say they are the coolest company around. From the work they create to their personalities as well'.

‘It’s important to think positive as it helps me to improve my work, set goal and achieve dreams’. In 5 years he sees himself working as an successful and established designer and illustrator with his own studio and a collection of ‘super cool works for super cool clients worldwide’. 

For more of his work you can now check out his Official Site as well as contact him on Facebook.