Ian Garrett

Art from nature and the night sky

 There is no shortage of talent at Greenwich Market. Among the stalls selling work by local creatives, you can’t miss the brightly coloured and inspiring visuals from Ian Garrett. Thematically, his work ranges from nature to astronomy – from earth to beyond. 

Ian is one of the market’s many well-respected stall holders, not only for his unique art work but also for his commitment to the environment. 

For every painting sold, Ian’s studio ensures five trees are planted through Ecologi HQ giving back to the environment that has inspired his art. To date, Ian’s sales have resulted in 1000 trees being planted, helping to combat climate change one tree at a time.

We spoke to Ian to discover what got him into art, and what he most enjoys about being a trader at Greenwich Market. 

“I’ve always been interested in art — painting, drawing and making things,” Ian explains.
“For my GCSEs I studied Art and Design & Technology which solidified everything. As I got older, my beliefs started to come into it and it just blossomed from there. 

“My favourite medium is painting. The prints I sell come from my paintings. Sculptures take more time. They’re all 3D modelled and printed, but I get the most enjoyment out of painting,” Ian shares with us.

What career path lead you to becoming an artist?   

“Back in 2010 I started doing my teacher training, which reignited my love of drawing and painting. At that point I started doing more digital work because I didn’t have access to a place to paint. 

“But my love of painting was rekindled, and so I started to buy more paints, and slowly I went from digital art back into painting again,” Ian explains. 

Looking at his work you can see his close eye for detail as well as a deep reverence for his subject matter. 

As well as creating, Ian also loves the interactions of selling his work directly to customers at Greenwich Market. “My favourite part of being a trader at Greenwich Market is meeting people, talking to people. I love getting out of the studio and talking about the work I do,” Ian explains.

Ian also loves the wonder he spots in youngsters when they interact with his work. “Children come along and look at paintings of planets or space and they light up,” Ian says. “As a teacher, I love talking with kids and engaging them”.

On a recent day at the market, Ian had an experience that made him as happy as the customer who bought his work. 

“Last week, a young person came back to my stall about three times. She was interested in some of the landscape paintings but they were out of her budget – she was young and spending her allowance – so I mentioned we also have prints of the same paintings,” Ian explains.

After she looked through the prints, the youngster wasn’t able to choose between two or three so she enlisted her mother. They went for a walk to discuss, and then she came back with her mother and some more members of her family, some aunts and uncles, to help her decide what to buy. “The whole family got involved!”, he explains. 

“In the end she decided on two of the prints, and her face was so happy when she bought the two she wanted,” Ian tells us with a smile. 

Not only is his stall at Greenwich Market inspiring young minds, and adding trees to combat climate change, it’s also bringing Ian the joy that comes with connecting in a meaningful way with his customers, in real life. Check out his stall at the market and catch up with just some of his work online.