Bravery Doesn't Mean Violence

Painted on a custom hand-stretched Swiss or Australian made canvas using spray cans and acrylics. Like all my canvas pieces, it comes ready to hang.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe played a pivotal role in my early years! I couldn't believe it when my family moved to Tasmania from South Africa that NO ONE here knew what it was! It was the eighties and Hobart had three channels on TV - none of them had He-Man. I was devastated. He was my hero, and now when I yelled "I HAVE THE POWER!" I may as well have been yelling "I HAVE LOST MY MIND!" to the other kids.
One of my favourite bits was Cringer transforming from the meek, hyper-cowardly and sensitive house pet into Battlecat - the fearless steed that carried He-Man headlong towards the evil forces of Skeletor!
And the cookies? Well, what better imagination fuel is there? A sneaky raid on the cookie jar in the pantry, on the shelf Mum thought we couldn't reach, and my brother and I were soon trying to hide the crumbs on the carpet,; the choc chips in our teeth giving away our crime.

Bursting with colour and created with an eye for precision, echoing the crisp and clean hand-drawn cartoon shows I fell in love with as a child. My art practice is centred on stirring nostalgia and memories of youth, reliving moments of a time when I had no responsibilities and my only expectation was to play and search out fun!
I hope to spark a little memory or feeling in you, maybe of Saturday mornings with a bowl of cereal in hand, and a weekend of endless possibilities ahead that only ended when the street lights came on.

I love creating smooth colour gradients with spray cans, reminiscent of the hand-painted backgrounds that made for such magical worlds before digital took over. I then obsess over painting solid, glossy colour fills with minimal evidence of brush strokes. The pieces are finally finished with painstakingly applied black outlines, thanks to a thin paintbrush, steady hand and meditative zen-like state!
Precision is important to me and so my pieces are produced to a high standard, including painted edges, so they can brighten your walls with or without a frame.
On occasion I'll present my work styled with a frame to give you, the viewer, an idea of how it could look. I do not supply my works framed at this time.

Perhaps you have a favourite childhood character or film that you would like as a part of your home or office? I love commissions and have created pieces for collectors all over the world that match my style to their most treasured nostalgia. I especially enjoy painting large scale as it plays well with spray paint and achieving that smooth finish!
All paintings are packed with the utmost care and sent fully insured.
Smiles and good vibes always,
Raf

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Hello! Ever since I was a little boy, when people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up; I would answer 'An artist!' Unfortunately for me, it was the late 80's and early 90's in small-town Hobart, Tasmania and the only response I ever heard was "Haha sure, but that's not a real job, so what are you really going to be?"

So I tucked my dreams away, and embarked on two and a half decades of bouncing from career to career, finding many ways to pay the bills, but never a way to ignite my soul. You'd be bored half to death if I tried to list all the job titles I've had!

I'm husband to a gorgeous woman who is my soul mate, and in 2017 we became parents. I was now Dad to a beautiful little boy, and coming home to him from a job I didn't like, only to have enough time to read him a story and put him to bed , made me do some deep thinking.
There's nothing like being in the presence of a high energy two-year old to bring nostalgia for your formative years flooding back - and pretty soon my dream of becoming an artist was gnawing at me once again. How could I expect our son to believe it was possible to find his passion, work with his gifts, and find happiness, if all he saw in his Dad's relationship to work was reluctance to go in the morning and exhaustion upon returning in the evening? So I jumped off the precipice into uncertainty and quit my job. Apparently toddlers can make you do that!

My work, which centres on nostalgia around the things I thought and felt whilst watching my favourite Saturday morning cartoons, a bowl of sugary cereal in my lap, is now in private collections in the United States, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and of course Australia. I feel so privileged to have something I created in the homes of wonderful people all around the world.
I love producing work full of colour and gradients, and adding dynamism into the characters I portray. I hope my work brings you those Saturday morning feelings!

My process is extremely analog, with pencil sketches being refined into an inked drawing on paper, which I then replicate onto the canvas either freehand or via a projector. I enjoy precision and producing high quality Pop Culture paintings with both spray cans and acrylics. I strive to develop my own recognisable style so that my work does not seem Pop Art derivative and cookie-cutter in nature. I work on my own concepts as well as commissions, - everyone has their personal favourite character from childhood!
I'm so grateful that you've taken the time to look at my work and read a little about me, hopefully I can bring some colour to a wall in your home.