GIMME BACK ME BIKE

So.. this painting comes with a bit of a story.

I was riding my bike home from work one evening as I usually do, and as I came to cross the road at the lights this bomb ass matchbox car came speeding around the corner and THIS face appeared out of the darkness of the car and proceeded to tell me to 'gimme back me bike' in a voice that sounded like a pig had learnt to speak.. kind of. Regardless it instantly cracked me up. Not their bike by the way, mine. Always been mine. My fuckin bike. I'm not sure if it was genuine confusion, mistaking mine for someone elses bike.. or just another shallow bogan attempt at intimidating someone through a drive by mouthing.

This is basically exactly what this person looked like though, I couldn't tell if the person was male or female, all I got was a greasy face, sunken dead eyes, and a confusing insult. Needless to say it was quite refreshing as by this point it had been a solid few years since some dropkick mouthed me from a moving vehicle, cheers! This is how I choose to respond to it.

At this point this is a rare venture into something resembling portraiture, I aim to experiment more down the line so I guess this painting is the starting gun for that journey. Sometimes things happen to me that are just so funny or memorable for the wrong reasons that I just have to process them by making a painting based off of them. I think it's good to celebrate the stupid banal things that happen to us in our everyday lives. Sometimes its all we have.

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I am a Tasmanian artist currently located in Launceston.

I work mainly in Abstract Expressionism, acrylics being my main medium. I dabble in portraiture though and maybe a few other things.

I subscribe to the ideology in my trade that abstract expressionism can be taken at face value, there are layers of meaning, as there are in all things, but it's largely illuminated only if you want to look for it. Painting is my purest form of bliss, and I use elaborate motions, frenetic techniques, and make a lot of mess to realise my vision. I aim to make art that is visceral, energetic and exciting. I believe everyone has an innate appreciation and understanding of colour and form, so I feel as though my paintings should be able to be enjoyed by everyone. It's not exclusive, it's INCLUSIVE, and you don't need a degree to be able to appreciate art. I have such a great time creating this work, all I really want is for those feelings of well being to be experienced by the viewer. Pure, undiluted and honest.

I feel the need to create art is an absolute necessity for myself as it is what gives me the greatest sense of contentment and purpose. It's therapeutic, has always needed to happen.. and always will. I am here to act as a conduit for colour and form to come into existence.

I hope you enjoy it, I made it for you. I had to.

- Josef