I live in my Tiny Home (which converts to my studio each day) in Hongoeka Bay, Plimmerton. The place I grew up as a child with my many cousins here at Hongoeka Marae. Growing up with a creative community that has produced many artists, musicians, writers, photographers, and even movie makers.

I have been drawing (doodling) most of my life. I was keen to take up Art at college, and for my first year that’s exactly what I did. However, once the teacher found out I was colour blind, she suggested I would find it very hard to make it in the art world.

So, the following year I dropped Art. I continued drawing, and when I became a dad, I enjoyed creating drawings for my children.

At 63, while contemplating my potential retirement years, I woke up one morning and thought, what if she was wrong? So my art journey grew legs, and I threw myself headfirst into a number of different mediums and projects.

I hope you find some joy in the work I produce.

My Art

In terms of work, I am exploring a number of media (Acrylics, Watercolours, Pastels, Coloured Pencils, and my main skill set, sketching in both Graphite pencil and Ink).

I am working on a number of collections and practising my skills every day to discover what I am capable of.

My work is influenced by my heritage and my surroundings. This includes my bloodlines, which are primarily Northern European, Irish, Scottish and English. Also, I was raised at Hongoeka Marae, a Māori community where my uncles, aunties, and cousins are almost all creatives; this has a massive influence on how I think and some of the work I do.

Hongoeka Bay (I now live back here in my Tiny Home), the Kapiti Coast, where I lived for twenty-plus years, and the greater Wellington area here in New Zealand also inspire my art.

So both Celtic and Māori design/art have a place in my heart. I also love colour, and I try to create Pop Art or highly colourful pieces that bring a smile to viewers.