Green Leaf Painting

Leaving state education behind me I grew up in a British army officer’s family. While I was still a small boy, my mother had to cover our walls with sticky back plastic because I’d draw all over them. At seven I entered my first competition and got in at second place. However, years later when I was thirteen and living in Canada, the competition I had wanted to apply for, never received my painting; the headmaster of my school took it out of the competition and stuck it on the wall in his office behind him. Since then I haven’t tried any competitions and dropped out of school. I moved to (what was then early 80’s) west Berlin and at fourteen moved into a squat. That’s where my creativity really took off. Artistic paradise The punk scene was flourishing and there was no time to waste (or perhaps the opposite depending on your point of view). I sang in bands, made artwork for fanzines, bands and venues. After a while I realised that getting an education might be beneficial, however the (alternative) school I applied for laughed at my red hair thus reinforcing my view that perhaps society isn’t quite ready for me yet. Adult and “The fall of the Wall” Had to happen at some point - The fall of the Berlin Wall. This was the beginning of the end of an alternative creative scene in Berlin’s Kreuzberg. Now being the middle of a “poor but sexy” city (quote from Berlin’s mayor), Kreuzberg became a magnet for the creative industries, slowly elbowing out any non commercial artistic enclaves and making the area more attractive for big business, with it’s clubs and bars attracting young tourists. So, what’s that got to do with my artwork? Artwork styles The paintings, installations and photos I create, still have the critical view on society that was flourishing during the 80’s and 90’s. I have changed with my surroundings, but the essence of creating is still abundantly there, I can still feel the child in me and still enjoy the feeling of flying when creating work. The compositions of my paintings (padded or otherwise) contain the raw feel of life that used to be here in abundance. It tries to evoke an understanding of the different elements of society/structures/beauty and bring them together in a thought provoking way. Humor, one of the great attributes that humans possess, is also prominent in most of the artworks.