Celebrity Portrait

Michael Caine.

Cockney Legend. Enough said.
With this piece I decided to place Caine in a working class London backdrop, with old style factories and chimney stacks- something to show his Cockney heritage.

Musician Portraits (2010)

John Butler.

A playful portrait of the essence of John Butler with hippie and politically charged persona. In the image he's leading a group of protestors (fighting for the environment, against government -things evident in Butler's songs). In the foreground John Butler is holding his guitar like a protest board, conveying the idea that he himself protests through his songs, through his music.




Angus & Julia Stone.

A whimsical painting of the brother sister duo, sitting in the dunes along the coast. I wanted to convey a kind of childlike innocence and wonder, as can be heard in their songs.



Flight of the Conchords.

With this piece I wanted to make a humorous image and a little bit dark as well (like the show). The funny part I suppose is the two of them playing one guitar. The subtle darkness is in their stance and expressions- unsure of themselves and looking a little lost.

Addiction Series

This series of paintings was done for an exhibition some fellow illustrators and I did for the SALA Festival 2010. We decided to focus on the subject of ''Addiction". My approach was slightly different, more subtle. I decided to break Addiction up into 4 subheadings/topics: Decay, Isolation, Excess, and Secet. To fit in with exhibition themes I created these as still life and portrait artworks.

This one is Decay. I tried to convey decaying through dying flowers in a basket. A darker take on a subject matter that is usually more vibrant and beautiful.




This piece is Isolation. I decided to convey loneliness and isolation with a sole figure wearing a gas mask. Gas masks isolate the senses- sight, hearing, smell, and the figure's curled hands suggest a reluctance to touch too. This is a moody portrait meant to give the feeling of isolation often felt with one suffering addiction.

This is Excess. Shown in a still life with a wine glass which has overflown. It explores both the idea of excessiveness and a type of addiction in alcoholism.

The final one is Secret. Using mixed media in this portrait (pencil, oil paint, acrylic paint) I washed out, and to a degree, hid the face, making the image a little hard to make out. The image is secretive in its washed out effect and in being slightly unclear. A favourite of mine.

Landscape painting

I undertook this project to develop painting landscapes as well as people. I gathered reference photos of the obelisk in Robe, South Australia.

Self Portrait

This was my first acrylic painting, in 2008.

Celebrity Portraits

Portrait of Ian McKellan. In this image I was conveying McKellan's love of the theatre, most obviously with the Shakespearean ruffles.

The other celebrity portraits are of Owen Wilson & Ben Stiller, and Paris Hilton. I bound Owen and Ben together in film roll to show that they're pretty chummy and are in a lot of movies together. For the Paris Hilton portrait I decided to paint her posing on a red carpet with her reluctant chihuahua in her handbag. The bubbles and pink surrounding her are there to convey 'airhead'.