First EVER Exhibition

CONGRATULATIONS!

Yes, congratulations to me!

Congratulations to me for finally exhibiting for the first time EVER!!!

Finally after much support and gentle but persistent nagging from friends and family, it was very appreciated nagging by the way, I finally got my act together and teamed up with fellow artists Emma Kirsopp and Elspeth McIntosh to create the exhibition Mammalian.

Here is the ultra rad flyer/invite we sent out. I'm very proud of it

(Thank you Emma)

Here is the show's title and our names printed on the window of Hogan Gallery.

Very exciting indeed.

When I first approached the theme of Mammalian my mind went completely blank, I had no ideas, I was stuck. So I asked a number of friends what they thought of when they heard the word “Mammalian” and the main response I received was “Boobies!”

A friend, Greg Shields, cleverly made the suggestion of “Ma’am” and “Alien”. I thought, “Brilliant! A female alien made of boobies!” And that, folks, is how the character of Maam Alien came about.

She’s a sexy, sassy, strong superhero come pin-up girl presented in the format of a comic book series with influences from pin-up artists Gil Elvgren and Bill Ward and the wonderful comic artist Albert “Asterix” Uderzo. Imagining that the Maam Alien series could be pitched to a viable publisher, I have put together a folio of potential comic book covers, painted on canvas to illustrate how her series would look.

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My intention is that you laugh and be entertained by her and her adventures.

One commission, two commission, three commission MORE!

Below is a selection of past painting or portrait commissions I've had in the last two years.

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Some are wedding presents, some are birthday presents and some are just personal and special gifts.

Flirty Fleur

A lot of my work is inspired by my friends and people I know. Fleur is someone I've known seemingly forever. However, unlike most of my subjects, Fleur actually asked me to paint her - "when are you going to paint me?" .... so I did:

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This piece is called "Flirty Fleur" as I intended it to capture her very social personality. Is she toasting the viewer or accepting a free beer that happens to be coming her way?

Mum

This is a very personal piece. It’s a tribute to my mother who passed away from bowel and liver cancer in 2002. She was a strong and beautiful woman whose love was unconditional and everlasting.

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In this painting her spirit is represented in the form of a Ghost Gum with strong branches that support the family she made for herself – My dad, my sister and myself.

Represented on the ground below is the unfortunate “family politics” that occurred as a result of her passing.

We still mourn her and miss her everyday.

Comics and "Drawing Jams" and Astérix

Something that I would like to do more of is comic book/strip art.

It's an art form I really enjoy and admire. I learnt to read as a child with comic books and magazines - which is how I became a big fan of Astérix and Mad Magazine, two publications that I feel have influenced my drawing style.

It's a dream of mine to one day have enough really good work that I could publish my very own graphic novel *sigh*.

This fantasy is further fueled by, what I call, "Drawing Jams" with talented cartoonists such as Ben "Hutcho" Hutchings, and David Blumenstine. Two comic book artists with very different and distinctive styles, but both very focused.

They're very inspiring really *double sigh*

The strip I did below was essentially an exercise to test my "line work". I wanted to do something that was fine lined and looked finished. I'm pretty pleased with the result (and I think you can also see the Uderzo influence)

A dark piece and yes a bit gross, I call this strip DIY Heartbreak and I dedicate it to anyone who's ever had their heart broken.

For me though, this strip was more about wanting something so badly but feeling I have no control on its outcome: "Fine! I'll save myself the wait of disappointment and stomp on my heart right now! That'll save us all a lot of time! That'll show 'em!! So there!!" (etc. etc.)

*triple sigh*