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.