Jefferson James Waters

I am from London and paint all day. I am constantly trying to put colours and shapes together in a way that reflects how I feel or what I imagine. Its harder than it sounds. My current works are a play on words that tries to capture the ironic humour of designer products, of how beautiful and expensive things have a place in good-natured regard rather than as things merely to envy or pursue in unhappy desperation. Labels can be fun and witty, have a directness and candor that is surprizing and in this spirit I try to continue my fascination with the Pop Art movement. My previous themes have drawn their inspiration directly from Basquiat, Schnabel and the ghostly figurative shapes of Marlene Dumas and I still love the uninhibited freedom of chasing paint around a canvas and seeing where it takes me. My piece 'Death of the Oligarch' which depicts a decaying black Amex with a skull in the centre is my attempt at a wry comment around the hollowness of super-wealth without conscience, but again, I like to keep subjects light-hearted!

I started drawing and painting as soon as I was able to hold a crayon. I was the kind of child about whom everyone said "he's going to be an artist" as they could never get me to do anything else. Being 'a...

Goldsmiths Art College, London

Featured artist at Dot Art gallery during the Liverpool Biennial 2014
'Small Windows' exhibition at Corke Gallery, Liverpool - 2012 - 2013
Artist in Residence at The Carling Gallery, Liverpool 2011 - current
Corke Gallery - part of the exhibition of Liverpool - 2011
'Mothman' Exhibition at Burgh House, Hampstead, London - April 2011
Part of the 'Abstracts' Exhibition in the Italian Embassy in London 2010
Camden Art Centre - Atelier van Leishout collaborative - 2009
The Chalk Farm Gallery - part of the 'New Abstracts' - 2008
One man show at Primrose Hill Gallery - 2008