Patrick O'Rourke Fine Art

Still : A solo exhibition by Patrick O'Rourke working on to the walls

2011-11-12T23:19:00.000-08:00

Opening of Still : A solo exhibition by Patrick O'Rourke

2011-11-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

Hanging Still, my first solo exhibition in Sydney!

2011-11-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

The work in progess for still

2011-10-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

Still : A solo exhibition by Patrick O'Rourke

2011-10-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

Still A solo exhibition by Patrick O'Rourke
at Plump Gallery from 18th of October-2nd of November.

His work captures fragile moments of loss, suffering and hope. Growing up on a council estate in Liverpool, Patrick O'Rourkes art is influenced by the grim harsh realities of a 1980’s England and life around him. His work is intensely emotive and dark. Creating a hauntingly real impression of urban existence and human relationsh...ips. The images are not glossed over or glorified but are instead drawn with honesty and an unmistakable understanding of the turmoil people go through.

Patrick on the other hand is not a depressing person at all; in fact he is quite chipper, known for his biting wit and satirical observations. Patrick has a BA Fine Art (hons) from Staffordshire University. He has had a working studio in Manchester where he produced commissioned portraits. Patrick was invited to take part in a number of group exhibitions both in regional NSW and North West of England. He is well respected in England and is quickly carving a name for his self here. Using a completely unconventional form of portraiture and still life but with the core desire to depict that which he sees.

Predominantly using charcoal, he depicts the echoes of everyday moments or events that the viewer will connect to: the cup of coffee in a rundown café, waiting in a laundry mat for the washing or an old woman carrying her shopping bags home. Integral to his work is the relationship of the subject within the urban landscape and the viewer.

“I find that drawing is an effective medium for documentation purposes and I am attracted to its honesty.”

The subject of the work is often challenging, uncomfortable and in some ways, best forgotten. Themes explored with a set of incomplete images, each with a section unfinished, erased, or with parts removed. Building on an interaction with the viewer, Patrick takes a room in the gallery and re-contextualise the environment into a domestic setting by drawing directly onto the wall, as well as combining found object with the drawings to create multi-layered relationships to space and place.

The viewer is not just an observer but becomes involved with the work in a physical panorama. They find themselves standing in the run down cafe or beside that old woman carrying shopping bags. The line between what is real and what has been drawn is blurred. This gives the depicted scenes a sense that they are 3d worlds of their own that we are allowed to walk through and be apart of.

Patrick O'Rourke will create doors and rooms in Plump Gallery that have never existed, opening up cracks in the walls to reveal people and places we don't know but can fully understand. His latest exhibition 'Still' explores the echoes of memories that linger on longer than we want them to. Each drawing will share the same narrative but is broken up due to the incomplete nature of the images. All the works will be new and will slowly change through out the exhibition. This series will look at how we deal with these memories, how they fade or alter over time. The works are embedded in those times that no matter how hard we try....we can't forget.

Opening night from 6pm on the 18th of October.
Plump gallery is 240 Enmore rd, Enmore.

Marrickville Contemporary Art Prize 2011 - The Fringe Dwellers Opening

2011-09-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Still/ without any need Charcoal and pastels on found wood

2011-08-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

Still/ without any need Charcoal and pastels on found wood 01/09/2011

Photo-shoot: 8.15am to 10.45am series.

2011-08-22T07:31:00.000-07:00

Almost all of my work over the last few years has used photography as the starting point for the finished artwork. During this time I have often considered dispensing with the lengthy process of drawing and simply printing the photographs or showing them as a standalone body of work. The two things that have stopped me many times are my deep enjoyment of drawing and also overall the cost. To be able to print these images in same size as my drawings has been out of my reach over the last few years in terms of cost. As with many things, this blog allows me to show these images with additional cost and add insight into the development of my work. This first set of photos would go on to become 8.15am to 10.45am series.

Still/ You'll Follow Me Down: No 1 Charcoal and pastels on found wood 20/08/2011

2011-08-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

This drawing is part of a series that focuses on situations that are difficult, uncomfortable and hard to deal with. To fulfil this aim, these themes are explored with a set of images that are incomplete, each with a section unfinished, erased, or have parts removed, hinting at the desire to forget these events. This image focuses on the feeling of being disjointed and isolated, being broken emotionally.

Silver apples False-staff ( December 2009)

2011-08-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

During my time living in Manchester I was fortunate to live in one the most welcoming areas of the city, Didsbury. Having moved there almost by accident, living in Didsbury was amongst the most productive times I have enjoyed as a working artist. During the course of two years, while sharing a small one bedroom flat with my partner, I produce a high number of new drawings, I was invited to be part of a number of local arts festivals and exhibited in and around the local area. This would lead to being offered a studio in the basement of a local business, Joe Petrillo’s, becoming the in house portrait artist.

Towards the end of my first in Manchester, I had produced a small exhibition a local bar/ café, Silver apples (now under different ownership as Mary & Archie’s). During the second week of the show I was approached by one of the three owners (two sisters and a brother) who had viewed my portfolio and asked if I would consider producing a drawing in same fashion as 8am to 6pm and Starting at 8am. The subject would be one of the owners, who was to pose for the drawing and would be produced during the two days of the local winter West Fest. During conversations on how the owner wished to see himself portrayed, the idea developed that image should be of customer, watching form his set the life of the bar around him. The look of customer was to be of a typical racing post reader, fat caped and armed with a pipe, enjoying a beer in little gem of bar he had found on Sunday afternoon. While many of images deal with a narrative, this image is one of the few which is not overtly dark or does not the same feel of many of my drawings. Much of this comes from the input of the owners of Silver Apples, who developed the character of the drawing.

This drawing became one the quickest and most successful I have produce thus far. The title of work draws its name for the Shakespeare character Sir John Falstaff, as way to imply the personality of subject matter but also as sort inward joke. While this is not a portrait, it did lead to the start of my work produced at Joe Petrillo’s.

The drawing was produced on time and within the two days, and gained me not only the attention of the bars customers but also that of the local newspaper the Manchester evening News. While the bar has changed hands in the last year, the drawing has reminded intact thanks to the care of the new owners.

Updating the blog

2011-08-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Over last few weeks I have been trying to update this Blog as it has been sadly neglected over the since I started it back 2007. During this time I have tried to upload past work and my current projects, which can seem a little chaotic, and seem a bit confusing. Over the coming weeks I will endeavour to post work produced during my time living in Manchester and the new work I am making here in Sydney, until I am full up to date.

Work in progress : "you'll follow me down" 08.2011

2011-08-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

The first few hours of work on the second drawing for the new show, hoping this will be an improvement on the last image.

Lady Madonna

2011-08-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Lady Madonna. 08/08/2011 Charcoal and pastels on found wood.

The first of many new drawings to be displayed in Big Brekky, Petershams before going to be part of my next exhibition. This drawing is also the continuation of my body of work entitled "places you never wanted be", which started in the drawings 8.15am to 10.45am.

8.15am-10.45am at Salford Arts Theatre

2011-08-08T05:50:00.000-07:00

October exhibition !

2011-07-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Not quite the update I was hoping to give but please keep 18th October free as this will the opening of my first solo show in Oz over five years !! I have 12 weeks to get an exhibition ready from nothing, so I will be posting images of the work in progress soon.

Update

2011-06-20T02:12:00.000-07:00

In the next few weeks I will update this blog and start posting on a regular basis. Till, then I will just like to post my first portrait produced since moving over to Oz, Entitled "One"

8.15am-10.45am* (2009)

2010-07-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

This new body of work (8.15am to 10.45am) was produced to work in conjunction with Salford Arts Theatre’s production of the Mike Leigh’s play Abigail's Party, drawing upon the setting and period for inspiration. This series of images was the first full body of work to be produced since No Road Home. This series depicts the brake down of a relationship, an event which is echoed in the use of crumbling plasterboard on which the drawings were made. The intention was to show the viewer the key moments of this event without overtly explaining what has happened to cause this. (These images are the first series in a much larger body of work “Places we never wanted be” which will explore themes of my practice and in others in more depth over the coming year.)

Title : 8.15am to 10.45am No 2

Date produced: 2009

Media: Charcoal and pastel on plasterboard Dimensions: 23.5 x 29.11

Title : 8.15am to 10.45am No 1

Date produced: 2009

Media: Charcoal and pastel on plasterboard Dimensions: 23.8 X 28.5

Title : 8.15am to 10.45am No 3

Date produced: 2009

Media: Charcoal and pastel on plasterboard

Dimensions: 15.4 X 4

Title : 8.15am to 10.45am No 4

Date produced: 2009

Media: Charcoal and pastel on plasterboard

Dimensions: Variable

No road home / other side of the world /about this (2006)

2008-11-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

No Road home was a commission for the exhibition entitled “Scraping the Banal”, focussing on images that dealt with contemporary life. The subject matter of the drawings borrows heavily on the same themes of the British New Wave Films of the fifties such as sex, the life of the working class, abandonment (and jumpers on radiators!). What I hoped to show in this body of work were snap shots, dealing with moments of reflection or realisation in which our decisions are made. The title of the work (“No road home”) is a reference to the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s “like a Rollin’ stone

No road home no1 Charcoal on wood 2006 30in x 65in

No road home no2 Charcoal on wood 2006 30in x 65in

No road home no3 (ray) Charcoal on wood 2006 30in x 65in
No road home no4 (Andy) Charcoal on wood 2006 30in x 30in
No road home no4 (kate) Charcoal on wood 2006 30in x 30in

No road home no6 Charcoal on wood 2006 30in x 65in

Other side of the world Charcoal on wood 2006 45in by 35in

About this Charcoal on wood 2006 45in by 35in

Passage- stoke /passage- Bathurst (2006)

2007-09-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

These two bodies of work that fall under the title “passage”, both began with a very similar theme of transitory places. In the first body, I wanted to deal with a world close to me, the landscape of the housings estate. I wanted to evoke the feeling of what life had been like on a housing estate and the feeling of anxiety that comes as you are passing through an unknown urban setting.

With Bathurst, I wanted to give a similar feel to that of the work of Edward Hopper. I wish to show that although the two landscapes were vastly different the atmosphere of “passing through” connected the two environments. I found that the subjects lent themselves to this quickly. Where Stoke had been winding roads and had a much darker look, Bathurst was flat, had vast open spaces and used lighter tones. . A by-product of this was a lonelier feeling to the work. Whereas stoke had been dark, urban and grim in many ways the images of Bathurst where more solemn.

Passage- stoke 2006

Passage-Bathurst (2006)

8am to 6pm

2007-09-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

With this installation, I wanted to show what was left behind when an area of becomes abandoned and how the traces of life still linger there. With this in mind, it seemed more appropriate to place my work in the environments that spawned much of my earlier work. My idea was to draw directly on to the walls once more, in a setting that was open to the public. The viewer was no longer just an observer but involved with the work in a more physical panorama. The selection of environment came down to the need of reflecting what I wanted the images to say. The drawing was produced in an area that had fallen in to social disintegration and was starting to be demolished. The main consideration of the work was to convey a sense of loss and abandonment, but also hope. The area was to be regenerated and a new Community centre was to be built to help the residents. I wanted the state of the girl to reflect the area at the time. The female figure was an embodiment of the social issues prevalent to the area. The aim of this work was to signify that when the area was finally torn down so would the drawing and the problems she depicted would be replaced with a better environment. The title of the drawings was to be 8am to 6pm, as they are the times posted on the street sign to indicate the hours that parking was permissible and the times I was able to work on the drawing outside with the light.

This is Hope 2007/Leave this house before you find something worth staying for (2008)

2007-06-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is Hope Media Charcoal and pastels on paper Date produced 2007 Dimensions 62cmx93cm 24x37

Soon to be donated Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England)

This image returned to the subject matter of life on a housing estate, namely the area of Liverpool in which I grew up. Environments such as this may often be seen as areas of high crime, low employment and drugs. While I may have seen much of this first hand, this may not always be the case or the only outcome. In communities such as these there is hope to be found. With this image, I wanted to reflect this sentiment and show that there is an alternative. The figure in this image was intended to embody this belief, that perhaps that there is hope and this type of environment can be overcome

Leave this house before you find something worth staying for (2008)

Leave this house continued to explore the themes of my practice and describe the feeling of being trapped by circumstances and the decisions we have made. The image is of a woman dealing with a claustrophobic domestic setting trying to find a means of escape. This image asks the viewer to consider what the subject may have endured and how far we can be pushed before the only option is to leave.

Imperial War Museum North

2007-04-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

This work was produce as part of an art workshop, dealing with themes of displacement due conflict. I was a contributor to the Moving Minds exhibition and structured the workshop.

Cover.

The piece itself consisted of eight slides. Two sets of photographs where produced to make up the body of the projection. The first contained models in period dress where produce and the placed in scenes of conflicts from the last century. Each image was constructed from two or more photographs. The first stage of process was finding the correct costumes. The costumes warn in the images are made up from a model’s father’s nation service uniforms, a second hand trench coat (my own clothing) and hand made rifle built from everything for a copper pipe to the nick of cocoa cola bottle. The next stage involves changing the tone of the image. After this, the color was tuned to a duotone then burled to convey to the viewer that the image is an authentic image taken from one the wars of the last century. The final stage is to place the image out a background. Each background used where taken from my own collection of photographs shot over the last five years. Other images used where screen captured from DVD videos. (The tanks used in the background for image are from “Evita”).

Different stages

In the second set the models striped from waist up with text placed on to their chest that confesses there true feelings as a way showing the external to the internal self.( At the time a mistaken was made, I only shot the models with set of text. The rest of the text was added in later on Photoshop.)

I wanted to show what it feels like in the hearts of the men who want to war. The message that I wanted to give the viewer is that war not only outwardly destructive but also internally damaging to those involved. The final project was made up of eight slides, with many slides left out as I felt any more the four of each would reduce the impact of images.

Each set then will be made into slides and projected on to the Silos of the war museum. The images would in turn from the external to the internal self at timed intervals. This would appear as an image of a solider in mists of war for thirty seconds followed by thirty seconds of darkness just long enough for the viewer to be on the cusp of walking away and for five brief seconds an image of the photographic protagonist will return for five seconds, allowing the viewer to see what the felt inside, then the cycle would begin again after a thirty second interval.
The final eight

Unused images.

ideal HOME (2005)

2007-04-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

Somebody else could have said it better (2004)

(Produced as part of Ideal HOME, directly on to the wall of 50 Aylesbury Rd in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent.)

The ideal home project was devised to put contemporary Art that deals with the everyday and the domestic back into the very rooms and spaces that it deals with. Over forty artists where invited to take part, each using the flats to shape their work in what became a rewarding show for both the artists and the local community lasting over eight days peaking the interest of local press and the Major of the city towards fine art. For me this was the culmination of two years practise, which saw me move away from working on paper to work on found objects and even walls. When I was asked to take part in the ideal home exhibition, I was originally to show a body of work called Somebody Else Could Have Said It Better. Three days before the opening I was ask if it would be possible for me to draw strait onto the wall of the flat in which my work was to be show. Due to this project, I moved on to working on found objects and even walls, breaking away from static images to produce work that the viewer could interact with both physically and analytically. Within this setting, viewers were made to feel that they had intruded on a scene of people in some form of relationship, the idea that perhaps this was something the viewer was “not meant to see” heighten by the images now looking out of from different rooms. The level of tensions within the work became darker, with the faded wallpaper and disused look of the environment helping to convey this. The images became part of three-dimensional experience, depending on where the viewer stood would inform their understanding of the narrative.

Drawing No1

Detail of Drawing no 1

Drawing no 2

(me with a at the time very bad hair cut)
Drawing no3

At the end of the show the work was remove form the walls as the flat was given back to the Bentilee community housing. Unable to take the work with me, I washed down the walls removing the drawings. The door on which the third drawing was produced on to was the only part of the work to survive.

The removal of the work

(Tom Vickery help to move my work)

Somebody could have said it better

2007-04-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

These drawings, entitled “somebody else could have said it better” produced while studying at Staffordshire University. The work was inspired by the look and feel of the nineteen fifty’s kitchen skin dramas as films such Room Up Top and an “a Touch of honey”. The main goal this work was to invoke the same mood. I wanted to the viewer see scene between two people, once in which they could have just walked into, with a hint of dark undertone in echoing the setting that reflected the fifty’s Britain depicted in the movies. The body of work involved behind these drawings was one the largest I have ever produced.

Sketch of somebody else could have said it better

Five models where used, including my self, to pose for photos. Each drawing was designed on Photoshop by removing the color from the photograph and then layered together a second photography to produce the right compensation I wanted. With endless possibilities I produce over a hundred versions for what became just five drawings.

The Different stages

Examples of the mock up's.

The work first shown in the conjunction LA04 exhibition in 2004 and was not one of my best bodies of work then or now in terms of drawing but it was the starting point for my work that followed in the scene of look and feel. “Somebody could have said it better No1”

This work has been recently reworked and donated to Transvoyeur Charity Auction for Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England). This has prompted to consider up date all the drawings for this body of work or produce prints of the photographs at some point.

Title of piece of work: somebody could have said it better No1
Media: Charcoal and pastel on paper
Date produced: 2004 -2007
Dimensions: 52 in x 71 in

Title of piece of work: somebody could have said it better No2
Media: Charcoal and pastel on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 52 in x 71 inTitle of piece of work: somebody could have said it better No3
Media: Charcoal and pastel on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 52 in x 71 in
Title of piece of work: somebody could have said it better No4
Media: Charcoal and pastel on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 52 in x 71 in
Title of piece of work: somebody could have said it better No5
Media: Charcoal and pastel on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 52 in x 71 in

Id-entity (2004)

2007-04-08T08:49:00.001-07:00

These works where produced as attempt to explore ideas of identity and communication (and was inspired by an argument with a follow student after being unable to get my point of view across.). The logic behind these works was to strip the subjects bare and place their true fears and insecurities on their skin. In this work, the feelings inside the models are bleak, such as a young woman with the words, “I used to enjoy abusing myself. Maybe I still do”. The text written on her makes the viewer feel uncomfortable with her semi naked body as it contradicts the normal perception of the naked form. These drawings where first displayed as part of the Identity, sex and death exhibition in 2004 at Cadman Studios Elective Gallery, Staffordshire University. Title of piece of work: Id-entirety no1
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 51 in x 64 in

Title of piece of work: Id-entirety no2
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 51 in x 64 in
Title of piece of work: Id-entirety no3
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 51 in x 64 in
Title of piece of work: Id-entirety no4
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 51 in x 64 in
Title of piece of work: Id-entirety no5
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 51 in x 64 in

Early work

2007-04-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

The early work ensample of what would become my practice shown here in two self-portraits produced in the middle of 2003. This small body of work is the first to be produced after a slow start at university. Both charcoal drawings where produce with a week of each other, the first (, landscape format) showed me looking out at the viewer. As can see there is no back gourd or indication of setting, in the second (portrait format) shows the beginnings of the direction my practice has taken. The idea behind second was to show a view into a part of my life, the image is of me drying after a shower a part of daily routine life, my morning, which would not normally be shown but we all do. However, what I feel important is the dark and gritty tones within these charcoal drawings, a part of my early work that is now a stable of my current work. Although these charcoal drawings are not my most successful the two of the most significant in my portfolio as they are the beginning of much of my work.

Title: untitled no1
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2003
Dimensions: 45in by 35in
Title: untitled no2
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2003
Dimensions: 25in by 35in

Transvoyeur Charity Auction for Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England).

2007-04-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have chosen to place as much of work online as possible, not simply to draw attention to my work but to allow others to tell me what the think. All are welcome to post a comment if they wish.
Over the last four years, I have produced a large body of work mainly in charcoal. In my practice drawing is my principle medium but I have also have produce other such as video and photography.
Recent work

2004

2007

Title of piece of work: All that we could have (dad)

Media: Charcoal and pastels on board (Found object).

Date produced: 2005-2007

Dimensions: 20 in x 26 in

Provence: This drawing was originally part of a larger work, entitled “all we could have.” As with much of my work, this drawing shows an everyday person in their every day events. This piece has a personal importance to me as it is a portrait of my own father recovering from a server illness. It was first shown at the Staffordshire University Art and Design degree show in 2005. The drawing has been recently reworked and donated to Transvoyeur Charity Auction for Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England).

All that we could have (Ray)

Media: Charcoal and pastels on board and suitcase (Found object)

Date produced: 2005-2007

Dimensions: 3.5 ft x 4 ft (approx)

Provence: This drawing was originally part of a larger work, entitled “all we could have”. This drawing was inspired by the kitchen skin dramas of the nineteen fifty’s such as “Saturday night Sunday morning” and “a touch of honey”. The combination of object and drawing was used to give a more physical link to the event depicted. It was first shown at the Staffordshire University Art and Design degree show in 2005. (A second version of this work was produce and sold in Australia with out the suit case under the title of No road Home: Another Saturday night another Sunday morning)The drawing has been recently reworked and donated to Transvoyeur Charity Auction for Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England)

2004

2007

Title of piece of work: somebody could have said it better No1

Media: Charcoal and pastel on paper
Date produced: 2004 -2007
Dimensions: 52 in x 71 in
Provence: This drawing is the first in a series of works, entitled “somebody else could have said it better” while studying at Staffordshire University. It was inspired by the kitchen skin dramas of the nineteen fifty’s and the work of John Bratby. It was first shown in the conjunction LA04 exhibition in 2004. (The drawing has also been reproduced as part of Ideal HOME, directly on to the wall of 50 Aylesbury Rd in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent.) The drawing has been recently reworked and donated to Transvoyeur Charity Auction for Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England).

Title of piece of work: Id-entirety no 3
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2003
Dimensions: 51 in x 64 in
This drawing is the third in a series of works, entitled “Id-entirety” while studying at Staffordshire University. The work was produced as attempt to explore ideas of identity and communication (and was inspired by an argument with a follow student after being unable to get my point of view across.) The work shows striped figures down to the underwear reviling their innermost feelings. These drawings attempt confront the viewer with the uncomfortable idea of seeing someone you don’t know striped bare and their feeling placed on display for all to see. The drawing was first displayed as part of the Identity, sex and death exhibition in 2004 at Cadman Studios Elective Gallery, Staffordshire University. The drawing has been recently donated to Transvoyeur Charity Auction for Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England)

Title of piece of work: Id-entirety no 4
Media: Charcoal on paper
Date produced: 2004
Dimensions: 51 in x 64 in
Provence: This drawing was the forth in a series of works, entitled “Id-entirety” while studying at Staffordshire University. The drawing was first displayed as part of the Identity, sex and death exhibition in 2004 at Cadman Studios Elective Gallery, Staffordshire University. The drawing has been recently donated to Transvoyeur Charity Auction for Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England)

Photos by Tony Knox

Hi

2007-04-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name Patrick O'Rourke. I am hoping to use this blog to document and showcase my art work as it develops. Below is an introduction to my self and my work. I hope you enjoy .
Bio
: Fine artist/ international artist
Born: 5th august 1983
Home town:liverpool
Over the last four years my practice has focused on depicting the every day. My art work is center around the everyday person in their every day events; moments from life that are familiar to all. I studied at Staffordshire University obtaining a B.A (hons) in Fine Art. While at University, my work was exhibited in the local area a number of times as part of the conjunction group. I produced workshops for the Imperial War Museum North and the ideal HOME exhibition (Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent.) At the end my time at university I was offered the opportunity to work as Artist in Residence for the oldest all boys' schools in Australia. I spent my year in Australia researching and developing my art work while assisting in team teaching 7yr-12yr HSC arts and photography. My work was shown a number of times overseas, culminating in a successful first solo show.
Since retuning to the U.K I have begun to build a new portfolio of work for exhibition and have been invited to dentate a number of drawings to the Transvoyeur Charity Auction for Emergency Department of Royal Liverpool University Hospital (England). Over the last few mouths I have begun launching my work online and continued to deal with the sell of my overseas.

Artist statement

In writing a statement I have to consider what I do and why I do it. (This is not one of the easiest things to do.)
As a person I always found an inclination towards Art, in its production and all aspects connected with art practice. As a child I found most enjoyment in the drawing anything from space ships to towering knights. As I moved upwards through the education system I experimented with other media but never lost my love to sit and sketch. As I grew older the space ships fell away and my work moved towards fine art and the subject matter changed from the pictorial to the expressive.
The world I strive to show is one of urban life, giving the viewer a sense of familiarity and in a setting close to home. I have tried to deal with subjects that may be relevant to the viewers own life. Using socially recognizable settings and observational skills to communicate a narrative of some shared experience the viewer connects with. My work has moved at times from the studio and onto the sittings that are reflected with in my drawings. By drawing onto walls of abandoned houses I want to show what was (or perhaps could have been) left behind, the trace of lives. These drawings confront the viewer with an uncomfortable world of grim, everyday life in the very rooms and spaces that inspired it. Most of all I have never lost my love of the world around me and the need to show it.
Future objectives and current work:
Since returning home I have begun to prepare a new body of work for exhibition. I hope to explore issues work further in the setting of my home town and fulfill my standing ambition of showing my work in Liverpool. I hope to return to Australia at some point and produce a second solo show combining work from the U.K and Australia.