Tim Hehir

I grew up in Ireland but have lived in Australia for more than 20 years. Fine art books were the picture books I leafed through as a child. My favourite artists were Durer, and all of the Dutch masters. As most of the reproductions were in black and white, in my formative years, I thought these fantastical images of saints and dragons and warriors were photographs from a more interesting world that no one had told me about.

As an adult, I realised that I my pencil drawings were attempts to draw the denizens of this fantastical world I grew up with but I have still not found.

In the early 1990's I received my best training in art when I worked as a street artist over three summers, doing caricatures for tourists in Spain. Drawing constantly for hours on end, day after day, honed my skills, and in my off times I drew the streets around me, or doodles from my imagination.

I aim for ambiguity in my drawings—to keep the viewer guessing. What is going on? Is that person a friend or foe? Perhaps if they stare at it for long enough they'll find the answers.