The Sneaker-Inspired Art of Josh Parkin

Posted February 10, 2017

Hypebeasts, rappers, and sneaker heads fill the illustrations of Josh Parkin. The artist from Leads, England, is featured with a portfolio in our current issue of SNEAKERS, and we want to give you a little taste of his creative inspirations and highly distinct art style in this online version. We love these images as wallpapers for our phone. And also make sure to follow Josh on Insta @joshparkyart.

Hi Josh, starting things off please tell us: How did you first get into art?

Basically, I’ve drawn since forever. As generic as that sounds, its true. Growing up I’d much rather spend an hour drawing than playing on a Playstation. There are certain things that I always remember drawing … Football boots! I used to say all the time that I wanted to design football boots when I was older, something that would appeal massively to me now.

Is your art an extension of your personality?

I can honestly scroll through my Instagram, look at the mash up of artwork, family and the odd night out and say that the page is an honest reflection of me as a person. Obviously I use it as a tool to showcase my craft, and scout out new clients and people to collaborate with, that’s why it’s dominated with such an array of artwork. Scrolling down my page, there is no real trend, no template or no specific filter used on each image, no money has been spent on followers or adverts.

Speaking of trainers – what role do sneakers play in your life?

It’s actually been proven, that the most used phrase in my house is, “not another pair!”. I don’t know if I really qualify as a collector, but there’s no denying that they’ve been a constant in my personal and work life for over 10 years now. I love the way you can take the basic elements of a trainer, and manipulate and rearrange them scale wise, to fit in my illustration style.

What are your favorite models?

My all time favorite is the Air Max 95 OG Neon. There’s no beating them for me. I’ve passed the love of them onto my young nephew, who’s had his fair share ever since he could fit into them. Other sneakers come and go, like I tend to go through phases.

Outside of sneakers, where do you draw inspiration from?

I know myself that I’m constantly looking around and running ideas through my head, from what I see in that moment. Train journeys are the perfect example, there’s no better way to kill time than sketching the person across from you, I used to do that often when travelling to and from the studio. Twitter and Instagram play an important role too.

You seem to be pretty obsessive about the whole football vibe. Do you collect jerseys yourself and what club are you into?

I love it, always have done! When you’re friends are involved with the likes of Mundial Magazine and SoccerBible, the love for all things football just grows too. I love training gear, as much as I do the kits though, that’s the crazy thing. I only ever wear football shirts when I’m playing. Whereas I’ll wear manager jackets or warm-up tops anytime. I’m a massive Leeds United fan.

Last words?

Thanks for the interview Sneakers Mag. It’s always cool to be challenged with interesting questions, and sharing stories related to topics I genuinely love. Illustration, Sneakers and Football: What more would you want to talk about?