Limited Edition Series Artworks
about.
about me;
I’ve been creating artwork for most of my life. I grew up in Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
I have a Degree in Fine Arts and a Degree in Education.
I’ve taught Visual Arts in Secondary schools, and lectured in Visual Communications in Tertiary Institutes; teaching Design Principles, Design Thinking, Creative Process and software fundamentals for Applied Design.
In 1999 I co-established an Ad and Design Agency in North Adelaide < > During that time (as Creative Director) I was nationally awarded for Brand Creative. I also have a Linkedin profile with details.
This year… for the first time, I have invested a lot of time in developing my personal artwork which had previously taken a back seat to demanding clients and deadlines.
It’s nice to spend time developing visual arts concepts and images for a change. I like to diversify a bit with my artwork. I guess that's a consequence of spending decades having to create unique outcomes for every new commercial / advertising project that came in the door.
This practice of having to re-invent / create fresh for every project has carried over into my approach to the development of my own ideas. I try not to rely on the same idea by producing multiple variations with minor differences..I find that pretty boring :-)
I also produce a digital/acrylic series of large 1.5m+ canvases called "Amalgam Series"and I also produce a series of abstract acrylic works on canvas which incorporate plastic tags, wire leads, pins and tape which gives them a highly tactile quality. I call these works "Caution Series".
I also create digital photo-realism artwork as limited editioned (archival) giclee works on paper and canvas. This year, I’ve really focused on developing my giclee works and building my “Living Wallpaper” theme which now shares artistic space with more general surreal creations that don't fit the wallpaper theme.
about the backstory that kicked things off;
When I was surfing around New Zealand we stayed at a place on the Mahia Peninsula.
We had a fantastic room with a large balcony looking towards Blacks Reef. An amazing but fickle Right Hand break . Cloudless skies, 27 degrees, perfect. The only problem was trying to get a peaceful nights sleep. Every night at lights-out we were attacked furiously by blood seeking little black marauders.
The numbers of mosquitos was ridiculous. Lights on... and they instantly vanished. Where did they go ? It took us ages flicking the lights on and off to eventually think to look (at an acute angle) across the main wall of our quite large room. The entire length of the wall was decorated with black and white flock wallpaper. And there they were. Hiding, camouflaged on all the black felt bits.
So then we spent 20 minutes slapping all the black pieces of wallpaper to exterminate them. The experience just stuck in my head and eventually found its way to being the theme of this series of works… based on the camouflage and interactions between living bugs and wallpaper patterns.
The theme has now expanded to include less probable relationships between organic and inanimate objects / patterns but the discovery of that behaviour - by those mosquitos, left a lasting impression.
about the work and process;
I describe my work as "contemporary surrealism" but It's also been described by others as "Australian Baroque" and this describes some of the pieces very aptly but the range of exploration within the series is much broader than that now.
Most initial compositions are built on the "living wallpaper" concept and loosely adhere to the backstory experience. All pieces including newer (non-themed work) is compiled from a large variety of resources.
Personal photographs such as plumbing, wall vents, lamps, power points, window frames etc, plus wildlife, landscape & environment shots taken by my son, as well as stock library resource images (mostly purchased over the last 18 years - some for commercial use by my Ad agency) as well as Public Domain historical photos.
I modify, manipulate, merge and often completely recreate objects, human bodies and elements in photoshop combining them with manufactured seamless textures and patterns. Some items such as the marine iguana are re-created from 9 different resources ... adding applied photoshop illustration & skin texturing. The Anglerfish and “thylacine purse” are other examples of items created entirely in photoshop. Occasionally, I'll import 3D mesh objects and rotate /position /colour them as props within the composition. The female in "Sweet Thunder" is a merge of 3 different women.
Some artworks are up to 200 layers deep inclusive of lighting and shadow effects in order to create the final version. It can take a long time to complete a series piece and a lot of concepts never make it :-( but they are
held over as future resources
about the media;
Living Wallpaper; Limited edition Giclees
The series is produced with archival K3 Ultrachrome inks and "signature" series fine art archival paper stock with an 80+ years colour stability.
The default image area is 35cm square .
Due to mailing costs, only giclees produced on paper are available for sale on my website although this series is also produced on canvas at 1metre square.
The canvases I produce to 1m square use the same archival inks on pre-coated canvas and have a separate UV clear top-coat lacquer applied for extra scuff and light proof protection
Having said that, as with any artwork, be it in a museum, a gallery or in your home, all paintings, ink illustrations or water colours, should be treated with care and kept away from direct sunlight.
Thanks for being interested in my artwork :-)
Please visit my Instagram page which includes additional artworks from the "Amalgam Series" and may include other canvas acrylic abstracts in the future.
contact.
