Outlook

I consider myself a hobby artist because I'm certainly not in it for profit. I paint simply because I love to paint and I offer my work for sale simply to help cover the costs of painting more - plus I love it when other people connect with my work.

 

Statement

For me, art has no meaning without an observer. The art in a painting is not, therefore, in the skills or techniques employed, but in what they capture and how it affects people. For a person to love a painting, I believe it needs to offer a spark to their imagination and be open to their own interpretation, thereby allowing it to become part of them.

 

Links/Achievements

2007 - Joined Art Group Nelson

2010 - Gained membership Nelson Suter Art Society

2011 - First accepted Auckland's Original Art Sale

2011 - Joined Art@203 Collective Gallery

2013 - First accepted New Zealand Art Show

2013 - First accepted at Art Expo Nelson

2014 - Gained representation ICON Gallery (closed)

2017 - First accepted Christchurch Art Show

2017 - Gained representation Tait Gallery
2018 - Rebranded Collective to Wall To Wall Art

 

Solo Exhibitions

2012 - ART@203 - "Boys Don't Cry"

2013 - ART@203 - "That's Me In The Corner"

2014 - ART@203 - "Jump Into The Sun"

2015 - ART@203 - "A Drop In The Ocean"

2016 - ART@203 - "Where Trees Play"

2017 - ART@203 - "Open Heart"

2018 - ART@203 - "Hot Cakes"

2019 - Wall To Wall -

           "Alien Artworks From A Distant Galaxy"

2020 - Wall To Wall - "Resin8"

2021 - Wall To Wall - "The Ones That Got Away"

2022 - Wall To Wall - "In Your Face!"

2024 - Nelson Suter Art Society McKee Gallery -

           "Heart Songs"

2024 - Wall To Wall - "INKredible!"

2025 - Wall To Wall - "The Big Ones"

 

For "Heart Songs", which was my first proper big solo exhibition, I switched to using alcohol ink on Yupo paper, which I then varnished, mounted on board and coated with resin. These works were my biggest yet, with the majority measuring 1.2 x 0.8m and two bigger still at 1.6 x 1.2m. The McKee gallery is a whopping 12 x 6m and I produced 19 new works for this 3 week show.

 

GOING DIGITAL

After successfully completing my first big real-life solo exhibition, I decided it was time to make my first foray into the digital art world by also offering most of these masterpieces as limited-edition (to 15) medium-resolution NFTs, which I initially made available on the OpenSea platform but subsequently tried them out on Rariable. Depending on how this goes, I might then consider gradually releasing some favourite previous works in the hope that I get discovered and maybe even go a bit viral, so watch this space...

 

Practice

My current favoured technique is to apply acrylic paint to glossy photo paper with an old credit card or similar. I choose such tools over brushes because I find they allow greater freedom of expression. I work quickly in order to achieve a variety of mixing, scraping and layering effects while the paint is still partially wet. These days, I typically start at around A1 size, but will often crop to a smaller size to achieve a result I'm happy with - sometimes right down to A6 size, which I make into original artwork cards. To finish, I either frame work behind glass with an off white mat and slim black or white frame, or mount it on board and coat it with resin, giving it a sleek, modern look. I have also had a selection of these works box-framed, giving them an extra-classy finish. I also offer limited edition (to 15) prints of selected works. If you like my work, please get in touch because I've got plenty more than those shown here, with different colours/sizes/finishes/prices and I am very happy to host viewings by prior appointment. I will also consider commissions provided my creative freedom isn't overly compromised.

STOP PRESS: I have also started working with alcohol ink on yupo paper using various splashing and blowing techniques to achieve similarly colourful and lively results.