I'm a New Zealand graphic designer, illustrator, artist and printmaker with a creative career spanning more than fifty years.
After studying graphic design in the early 1970s, I began working as a commercial artist in newspaper advertising before spending 15 years with TVNZ designing primarily for children’s television, but with forays into light entertainment, lifestyle, satirical comedy, documentary and news productions.
During the 1980s I was commissioned to illustrate a number of children’s storybooks, I also worked freelance submitting editorial illustrations for The New Zealand Listener.
As the ’90s approached and digital technology had already transformed the design industry, I established my own studio and spent the next 35 years working at a keyboard, creating art files for both the print and online media industries.
Since retiring from commercial design I’ve enjoyed a return to inky-fingered creativity, making art on my own terms, through drawing, printmaking, a little painting, and a quieter, more personal studio practice.
The creative process:
My earlier work was largely rendered from my imagination rather than reference material, most likely because I was too lazy or time-pressured to search any out.
I’d just see something in my mind’s eye and transfer it to paper. However for my recent exploration of landscape, I photographed local scenes to use as a starting point. Last winter I built a bottle-jack press for my studio as my ageing wrists are feeling the strain, and hand-rubbing blocks with a wooden spoon is no longer an option!
Themes and inspirations
So far in my printmaking, I’ve mostly worked in monochrome.
I like the bold, graphic quality this offers, which allows for strong contrasts and striking visual narratives.
My interest in music, brass bands in particular, is often reflected in my work, bringing an accessible, familiar feel to many of the pieces.
Whether depicting a rural landscape or a musician in performance, I aim to capture moments and feelings that resonate with the viewer.