Style Artist

Former TGS student 'Brolga' chats to Style

What are your biggest inspirations for your art?

Travel inspires my work the most. I have an insatiable travel bug that’s taken me to some far-flung and really interesting places. I find new ideas easy to come by in fresh surroundings.

Describe your style?

My style has been described as pop surrealism. I love to mix daydream-like doodles with simple iconography and old graphic design styles. Saying that, my style continues to evolve as I find my strongest voice.

How has it evolved?

My art style evolves naturally from the new work that I do, such as painting murals on the street or brainstorming in my studio. To keep things fun and exciting, I’m always trying new things and pushing in a few directions .

What influence has travelling/ living abroad had on this?

I’ve lived in some really interesting places like Tokyo, Seoul, Galway, and New York — I like to soak up my surroundings and that’s filtered back through my work. I recently visited the ancient Egyptian art exhibit at The Met in New York and am now considering ways to factor their concepts into my own work.

Your art often depicts characters that your fans can get to know. Why do you like to incorporate these?

Drawing characters has always been my thing since I was a kid. While living in New York, I began creating artwork in the public realm by wheat pasting life-sized versions of my characters around the city. It was cool to see drawings from my sketchbook get a life of their own, living and breathing with the city. Once the characters are out there, they wear with the city and become a part of the daily life.

Will you return to paint a piece in Toowoomba one day?

I ’ll be back in Australia in 2018 and it would be amazing to be invited to Toowoomba to paint a wall. I grew up there and the city left a colourful mark on me. It would be nice to put a few marks back on it.

What is the piece you are most proud of to date?

I illustrated my first piece for the New York Times this year! I was really excited about that. It had been a dream of mine for years and I was totally flattered to get the commission.

Describe the feeling of seeing your work hanging in The World Trade Centre.

The World Trade Centre exhibition was an unbelievable experience to be involved with! It was a dream come true to show my work next to the heavyweights of the art world.