SERIES 1: THE AUDIO FILES
Music has always been an important part of my life, but it wasn't until 2013 (over ten years before meeting Sarah, and before we formed Honeybear) that I began incorporating musicians, and music as a theme, into my work. Primarily, my focus as an artist has been portraiture, so it was a natural progression to bring my style to these subjects and see what would happen.
Utilizing vibrant colours, bold contrasts, textures and typography, these posters are a continuously evolving series of portraits, lovingly produced and honed into a collection, spanning several years. Capturing the character and aura surrounding these colourful musical figures, these posters explore the aesthetics of album and poster art, and also draw inspirations from, and are visual homages to, the songs and albums that Sarah and I both love. We hope music fans of all types will love them too.
SERIES 2: TWISTED POP
TWISTED POP is a collection of both popular and niche pop culture illustrations, derived from and inspired by characters from classic movies and tv shows. They began as simple sketches, and a way to diversify my work, beyond the musical themed portraits of THE AUDIO FILES series-all created with tongue firmly in cheek.
As a fan of classic movies, unforgettable cinematic characters, and being a sucker for a good movie quote, the posters in this ongoing series are a casual visual expression of the movie nerd inside, made for other nerds just like me.
SERIES 3: MIDNIGHTS IN MERIDIAN
The MIDNIGHTS IN MERIDIAN series was originally conceived as an exercise in world building, but later became more of an exploration of film noir and neo noir as a subject in my portrait work.
Sarah and I have often reflected on the similar paths we took as young artists, and the ways our drawing developed at a young age. Collectively we both loved comic books, video games and animated films and would feel their influence in the hours we would spend alone, drawing and creating characters of our own. I was reminded of the freedom found in that kind of creation-being untethered to the world around you, and instead, inventing one of your own.
This film noir world focuses on the misfit gangsters, femme fatales, musicians and more that inhabit the fictitious metropolis of Meridian City-- a sprawling nocturnal purgatory bathed in neon, shadow and surrounded by the badlands of an endless desert and a highway leading to nowhere.
This series was, and is, a conscious exercise in reconnecting my childhood joy of creating fictional characters, augmented with the stylistic sensibilities I have gained in adulthood. It will be interesting to see what directions this collection make go, as I add to it with time, and with new ideas.
