Meet the Leeds artist Zacrosso who paints striking colour prints of the city - despite being colourblind

Now a successful artist who paints striking illustrations of places in Leeds and beyond, his vibrant artwork is full of colour. But it was only thanks to his school teachers that he veered away from painting solely in black-and-white, as Zac has deuteranomaly, a type of colour blindness which leads to the colour green appearing more red.

Zac told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I was insecure about it. And then I made some coloured pieces and my teachers were like, ‘oh, you have a really interesting approach to this’. One of my teachers said it should become my unique selling point. I've not created anything black and white ever since.”

Zac also said he has a tendency to confuse green with brown or other less vibrant colours. He added: “I think I make it up by painting quite intensely and vibrantly, to sort of counteract it.”

Zac’s interest in art could have been influenced by the creative minds in his family – including his mum, who was a graphic designer, and his sister, who also studied art. Zac said: “I think it's accessible and useful, and everyone likes it. And it’s also what I would consider my only tangible skill.”

After leaving school, Zac studied art at university and he picked up his paintbrushes to illustrate vibrant places in the city shortly after his graduation in 2020, during lockdown. His first illustration was of Hyde Park Picture House and the success of the piece had taken Zac by surprise.

He said: “I was really determined that I was going to start making and selling artwork and I was stuck to a mile radius of Headingley, so it kind of happened naturally. I had to paint the things on my doorstep because they were the only places that I had access to.”

Zac’s aim was to paint locations in real-time, but it wasn’t as feasible as he had imagined. Zac added: “I tried that. It's really cold to do that in winter. I couldn’t do it. I kept going to paint in parks and once, some lady asked me if I was okay because I was obviously shivering.”

The artist’s process now includes taking lots of photographs of his location. He said: “Typically an illustration will never be based off one photo.”

Zac produces his illustrations in different print sizes, ranging from small postcards to A2 prints. His latest print includes six little paintings of Leeds coffee shops including Laynes Espresso, Mrs Atha’s and Fika North.

Zac said: “I have always been really determined for artworks to be accessible, so I think I like making prints because I didn't want it to be high prices or in galleries that were only designed for rich people. I always wanted to make it so students and families could buy it and have a signed copy without it being difficult to obtain, and I think I'll always try and keep it that way.”

Find out more information about Zac’s prints via his Etsy shop – Zacrosso.