20-21 September 2011 - Digital Painting. Duration: 7 hours.

As a gift to a friend and Blues lover, who doesn't have nearly enough room to house the entire chalk series of Croak, Bellow, Howl & Growl, I completed this digital painting version of "Bellow" (also affectionately known as Big Mama).

Normally reticent to re-make or revisit old work, and keep developing as an artist, I really enjoyed painting this piece because it gave me an opportunity to just concentrate on the painting and focus solely on how the light works in it and develop that to a finer degree.

7-10 October 2010 - Chalk Artwork Series. Duration: 3½ days.

As the chosen "poster boy" for the Chalk Urban Art Festival of 2010, I was swamped with interviews and consequently given an opportunity to flesh out my identity as an artist. I was interviewed by Aesthetics Now Magazine, Street Corner, AFTRS Radio, and Hawkesbury Radio. If you'd like to read it, the Aesthetics Now article can be read online (page 112).

2010's Chalk Urban Art Festival was given the theme of
"The Blues". For my entry I chose to tribute Blues musicians with four characters, each drawing inspiration from a mix of different artists. This year I gave myself an added challenge of splitting the 2x3m canvas into a series of artworks, each one a more manageable size. You might notice that the Gorilla (The Growl of Croak, Bellow, Howl & Growl) is shown unfinished. Unfortunately due to time, over-achieving and suffering for my art (that led to painful and bloody fingers), "time" was called just before I was able to complete it.

16th December 2010 - Digital Painting (Photoshop). Duration: 9 hours.

Merry Christmas! This artwork was designed as a christmas card, and was done to a fairly tight deadline so it could be printed on time.

On the left is Uncle Frosty, filled to the brim with christmas cheer. Ever since he discovered that alcohol won't freeze at temperatures just below zero, he's always managed to have a good time at all of the family get-togethers. Larger than life and full of pride, Santa Claus embraces his family. On Santa's other side stands Jack Frost, always a little unimpressed by family activities. Mrs Claus sits in the middle, with her elvin children around her. And let's not forget the family pet, Rudolf.

An exhibition that treads new ground by exhibiting Australian digital painters. 27th August - 9th September 2010.

I was invited to exhibit my work at Brunswick Street Gallery — three storeys of gallery space tucked up above a bookshop in Fitzroy, Melbourne. Suddenly this part-time passion had turned into a somewhat more than part-time adventure.

I hurriedly painted another artwork to add to my collection, organised printing, framing and shipping, and flew down to Melbourne to attend the opening night, accompanied by my Publicity Agent/Minister for Social Affairs/girlfriend.

I’m happy to say that I was the first to sell a piece (Office Pandamonium), and that it was sold on opening night, within just a few hours of the gallery opening to the public. What a buzz!

The beauty, or perhaps misfortune/disadvantage of digital painting is that there are no originals. Reproduction is easy enough, and I never need to part with my original work, which can be difficult. Every artist pours their heart and soul into each piece and gets so very attached to it that it’s hard to let it go. It’s also hard to put a price on something you’ve loved and nurtured, and brought into existence.

That is why I decided the production of my works should be unique, and of the highest quality. Each painting is framed and belongs to a limited edition of 250. They are individually hand-signed and numbered as a part of the printed artwork. The prints are made by 10-ink UltraChrome® HDR process, which has a superior colour and vibrancy to normal 4 colour printers, or even giclée prints which are the usual choice for high-end archival quality artist's prints.

My little trip to Melbourne was a great source for inspiration. I visited the Tim Burton exhibition and remembered why I love Beetlejuice so much. I also managed to meet Viet-My Bui ("Viet-Mee Buoy"), one of my new favourite artists, alongside whom I happened to be exhibiting. Some of her work can be found at ravenskar.carbonmade.com.

12th August 2010 - Digital Painting (Photoshop).

I was invited to exhibit my work at Brunswick Street Gallery in a group show called "Digital Dreams", which exhibited nine digital painters from all over Australia.

This work originated from an image that popped into my mind, while sitting in the mall, just watching people. This ancient little lady sitting down devouring an icecream one morning before I went to work. Her weathered face and beak-like mouth made me think of a snapping turtle.

I completed this work over a few evenings, and got it done just in time to get it printed, framed and shipped to Melbourne for the show.

10th December 2009 - Digital Painting (Photoshop). Duration: 3 hours.

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Created for a Christmas card, this speed-painting is a new re-invention of Santa Claus in the land Down Under.

It's quite apparent to anyone who gives it any thought, that a reindeer-drawn sleigh is a most impractical form of transport for anyone intending to travel in Australia.

Santa rides an "obviously magical" quad bike drawn by six red kangaroos. He is adorned with black gumboots and gloves, tight little red shorts, and a cookie and beer-stained singlet. His red akubra, edged with cotton wool protects his dusty face from the hot Australian sun.

It's a tough ride, made all the tougher by the need to make a quick change into his red robes, in the dark, whilst flying over the Pacific Ocean, island-hopping his way to America. I really hope Santa finds a moment to take a break and have a shower!

29th October - 1st November 2009 - Chalk Art. Duration: 3 1/2 days.

This latest chalk art piece is quite different from my work in previous years, such as The Blue Dodo (2008) and Harry DeFaux (2007).

While I seem to have perpetuated a theme of animal characters for my work, the difference in this year's work is in the circumstance. This year the Chalk Urban Art Festival has quite a few changes. The first of these changes is that this year there's an environmental cause. To be honest, at first this stumped me for ideas but eventually, with the help of my clever and loving girlfriend, we came up with the idea (as presented) for the new theme of "climate change".

Another change that was made this year was the stipulation that everybody works on canvas. At first I thought this went completely against the whole idea of the thing... the impermanence... the elements... but quite quickly I realised it wasn't such a bad idea because we always get rained out, and especially because as a canvas, at the end, I can sell it!

This piece is available for purchase (original artwork on canvas, a little larger than 2x3m). Please contact me if you are interested.