The Unpopular Penguin series began in late 2015. I worked in a bookshop at the time, and it was natural that my love of books and paintings would collide. The inspiration came from 20th Century American abstract painter Jasper Johns, who took well-known images (such as the American flag) and transformed them into modern art, layered, rich, chaotic. I took as my subject the Penguin paperback book, a beloved style icon. What I hope to achieve in these paintings is a balance of chaos and clean design, of thick, layered paint in conflict with straight lines, a famous design bursting with free expression.
This particular painting is of course a 'Memento Mori', with the central skull (based on my plastic model skull Bernie) and books about death and mortality. 'The Crossing' by Cormac McCarthy is a particularly heartbreaking book, but it ends with the memorable line 'after a while the right and godmade sun did rise, once again, for all and without distinction' - and the title of the Hemingway book next to it shares that sentiment, that life goes on.
The surface is textured, built up of multiple layers, with lumps and drips and spatters. The sides of the canvas are painted, and the painting is sealed beneath a glossy varnish. It is ready to hang without needing to be framed.
These paintings have been selling steadily for six years now, and have been included in art prizes and shows in prestigious galleries. Edmund Capon, former director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, said of the first painting in the series - 'an evocative imagining of the familiar Penguin paperback...it was a painting we all liked very much for its rich texture, its sense of memory and its sort of nostalgic humour’
A bright, striking painting for lovers of books, art, and classic design.