Ori Toor’s illustrated compositions reflect his mood in abstract ways

Tel Aviv-based illustrator Ori Toor has been working on a series of abstract compositions that contain various objects, symbols and figures arranged neatly in a plethora of pastel hues. Inspiration for the illustrations came from the unlikely source of newspaper and magazine layouts from a previous job of Ori’s. “I think they all came back to me lately as really delayed inspiration. It’s also other print design references like data design that I always liked as abstract art,” says Ori. “Some of my new works also combine some elements from interactive interfaces and operating systems, comics and general geometric shapes.”

When we previously showed Ori’s work, his style was bubbly with a brush-like texture set against dark backgrounds. He’s since progressed onto cleaner lines and shapes with defined edges. “Because I work spontaneously, I need to be interested in what I’m doing all the time, otherwise depression and boredom sneaks in,” says Ori on his style developing. Each image starts with a blank file in Photoshop and Ori simply begins drawing. “I use this plug-in called Lazy Nezumi Pro that stabilises my line in a way that makes me feel like I’m drawing on paper,” he explains. “Sometimes I work in Illustrator which smooths lines in a way I don’t like as much but gives me greater flexibility. It’s a trade off. When I’m done with the line work I start colouring. Sometimes I come back and do more lines – it all depends on what I feel like, there’s no planning.”

Ori’s images are abstract and flat, so the illustrator uses colour to convey a mood and atmosphere rather than depict a specific space. “I like to experiment with colour. It always feels like my weak point, but when I get it right it makes me so happy,” says Ori. At first, the composition appear as random collections, but each one has been influenced by Ori’s mood and thought processes. “Most of these are fantasies or wishful thinking. It’s a life without worries, it’s cosiness. Sometimes darker things come out – after all it’s all improvised, so if I’m having a bad days there’s always a chance some evil will find it’s way in. Sometimes I only realise what it’s about a few days after it’s done.”