ARTIST SHOWCASE: JOHN BARRETT
This week's artist showcase see's us catch up with the illustrator behind 3032 FC, John Barrett. The man behind the art tells us all about his love for the sport and why he's addicted to illustrating it.
A Socceroo's fan who's turned a passion for football and illustration into a career. We've fallen in love with this style of craft and finally managed to catch up with the man behind it.
CK: So, John first things first... who do you support?
JB: It usually depends on who is asking, whether I go with the safe answer being Chelsea, but if they're an Australian soccer aficionado then it's Western United here in the A-League.
JB: It usually depends on who is asking, whether I go with the safe answer being Chelsea, but if they're an Australian soccer aficionado then it's Western United here in the A-League.
CK: For those of our readers who may not have seen your work and therefore not know much about you, can you just quickly tell us a bit about yourself?
JB: I'm a Melbourne based illustrator, designer and art director with a deeply nerdy interest in football. I've loved football ever since Australia's qualification to the 2006 World Cup sparked something within me and my bedroom walls were quickly full of hand drawn scribbles of my favourite Socceroos. It wasn't until the pandemic where my drawing really kicked off professionally. I've been casually running 3032 FC on instagram since 2018 but once lockdowns hit it became more of a side hustle and now a full time job.
JB: I'm a Melbourne based illustrator, designer and art director with a deeply nerdy interest in football. I've loved football ever since Australia's qualification to the 2006 World Cup sparked something within me and my bedroom walls were quickly full of hand drawn scribbles of my favourite Socceroos. It wasn't until the pandemic where my drawing really kicked off professionally. I've been casually running 3032 FC on instagram since 2018 but once lockdowns hit it became more of a side hustle and now a full time job.
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CK: Can you describe your style? Or would you say it's always evolving?
JB: I'd say my style is characterised by simple depictions of footballers, bold lines and curved lines, strong and vibrant colours and hopefully a nice story attached. Whether it's artwork that's reactive to news in the football world or personal to me, I'd like to think my work has an added element of fun.
"I love how the game can intersect between my two interests. There's never a shortage of inspiration I can take from the football world and bring into the design world or vice versa."
CK: For most of us a pack of crayons or colouring pens was enough up and to a point as a kid, but how did you get into illustration?
JB: I've loved drawing from as early as I can remember. My parents still have a little folder full of footballers I've drawn out of magazines like Match of the Day and Kick. As mentioned, 3032 became an avenue for sharing drawings I was doing for fun in my own time. Once the pandemic rolled around I was drawing a lot more and Season Zine gave me my first freelance opportunity. I hadn't ever really considered this would be a job.
JB: I've loved drawing from as early as I can remember. My parents still have a little folder full of footballers I've drawn out of magazines like Match of the Day and Kick. As mentioned, 3032 became an avenue for sharing drawings I was doing for fun in my own time. Once the pandemic rolled around I was drawing a lot more and Season Zine gave me my first freelance opportunity. I hadn't ever really considered this would be a job.
CK: What would you say inspires your work?
JB: So many elements I love about football hinge on the design. Whether it's kits, fanzines or elaborate TIFOs. I love how the game can intersect between my two interests. There's never a shortage of inspiration I can take from the football world and bring into the design world or vice versa.
"My earliest football memory was thanks to my Mum. She's English and would often go back home to visit family in Suffolk and to make up for the fact we couldn't all afford to go, she'd return with a suitcase full of football gear."
CK: Do you have other illustrators/artists do you admire?
JB: I can't go past some of the big dogs in football Illustration like Dan Evans, Dan Leydon and Daryl Rainbow. They're all brilliant at what they do and constantly inspire me, but I also think it's super important to find inspiration from artists outside of that space, Artists like Brolga, Sebi White and a local collective named Good Ideas here in Melbourne are great sources of inspiration to me.
CK: Back to football now... What's your earliest football memory?
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JB: My earliest football memory was thanks to my Mum. She's English and would often go back home to visit family in Suffolk and to make up for the fact we couldn't all afford to go, she'd return with a suitcase full of football gear. The first time she returned she produced matching England jerseys for my brother and I, both with David Beckham on the back. That was in 2005, and that same year Australia fell in love with the Socceroos after their heroic World Cup qualification. I was hooked after that.
CK: Now for football shirts... What do you think of this season's current crop of kits?
JB: I'm really loving a lot of kits this season. We were treated to a brilliant selection of kits at the recent Women's World Cup hosted here in Australia. I love that the women's kits in particular seem to get a little bit more creative.
JB: I'm really loving a lot of kits this season. We were treated to a brilliant selection of kits at the recent Women's World Cup hosted here in Australia. I love that the women's kits in particular seem to get a little bit more creative.
CK: Yea definitely – the women's game kits pushes the bar on kits. OK so, what do you think about your teams kits?
JB: I love Chelsea's away kit this season so that will be going on my Christmas list. Closer to home, Western United's home kit is worth looking up because they've integrated a mystery QR code into the design and nobody is sure what it leads to yet.
JB: I love Chelsea's away kit this season so that will be going on my Christmas list. Closer to home, Western United's home kit is worth looking up because they've integrated a mystery QR code into the design and nobody is sure what it leads to yet.
"Artists like Brolga, Sebi White and a local collective named Good Ideas here in Melbourne are great sources of inspiration to me."
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CK: Do you have a standout kit of all time?
JB: It's probably a cliche answer but, I think the French 1998 home kit is just perfect. I am a sucker for a kit with a collar and a gorgeous typeface for the name-set, so it ticks both those boxes.
CK: OK, back to you... Can you tell us what you're working on at the moment?
JB: I can't say too much about a few things on the cards, but I've been offering A4 prints of my work for some time now and I've been recently updating my offering ahead of Christmas. I also recently did a series of colouring in pages for each team here in the A-League and there's been a lot of demand for an A-League Women's version too, so that's in the works.
JB: I can't say too much about a few things on the cards, but I've been offering A4 prints of my work for some time now and I've been recently updating my offering ahead of Christmas. I also recently did a series of colouring in pages for each team here in the A-League and there's been a lot of demand for an A-League Women's version too, so that's in the works.
CK: Very cool – we look forward to seeing that. How about over the next few weeks? What can we expect to see on your social and site?
JB: I'll be dropping plenty more prints on my store, so keep an eye on my instagram for more of that. Or keep an eye on twitter if you want to see me ranting about Australian football.
Where can people see more of your work and follow you?
You can find my work on instagram and twitter, just search for 3032 FC, or at my website 3032fc.com for any prints or commission work.
You can find my work on instagram and twitter, just search for 3032 FC, or at my website 3032fc.com for any prints or commission work.