The body and wing were carved from balsa foam, the armour is sheets of rubber painted in a bronze paint and treated with oxidising medium to give it a weathered look. The tail is plastic strips,and there are all kinds of other attachments…painted feathers in pieces of bronze tubing, cogs, rivets and rigging, chain and doo-dads. Here come a bunch of shots from other angles:

I made the teeth from 2 part resin though I made way more than I needed for this piece so I now have a handy box of spare teeth.

It’s not meant to any kind of fish in particular though the face ended up quite barracudey. Must have been inspired when I saw one while diving recently.

The underbelly.

A couple of shots to show the scale of it…it’s about 38cms long.

I don’t think any of these pics show it, but I have painted some iridescent sea green on the fish scales, you can see it in certain lights.

It took many hours, but I think it’s my biggest and most ambitious yet.

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This one is a bit more colourful for me. I would never have thought to put a red/pink wash over a blue based green but it was surprisingly pleasing.

If you’re in Adelaide tomorrow night, come to Les Dessinatrices!

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Espionage Gallery proudly presents Les Dessinatrices: an all female international illustration exhibition. Featuring the work of 22 international female illustrators from all corners of the globe.

Opening Night Thursday the 19th of April at 6:00pm, the show runs until the 3rd of May.

Featuring the works of:
Elisa Mazzone (Paris), Lisa Vanin (Toronto), Rebecca Murphy (Sydney), Yvette Tziallas (Sydney), Kaitlin Beckett (Melbourne), Luka Va (Melbourne), Nicole Tattersall (Melbourne), Jelena V, Caitlin Millard, Katie Johnson, Emmaline Zanelli, Jenny Allnutt, Fruzsi Kenez, Tiff Rysdale, Lilian Choo, Sally Jo Cook, Kerri Ann Wright, Lindsey Bryant, Olya K, Meaghan Coles, Pip Kruger, Ellie Kammer

Here’s the facebook event page.

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I love watching penguins jump out of the water on to the ice. There’s that brief moment just when they break the surface, just before they belly flop on the ice, when they’re kind-of flying.

A penguin with a jetpack could relive this moment any time it liked!

I liked painting his furry little legs…I used a fan brush as a stencil and sprayed over it with my airbrush to get the fluffy look.

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I brought some paints down and on a small purple wall I put up one of my masked samurai walkers…have a look at the pics on my Agency’s blog here!

It was fun and hopefully soon I’ll be doing some more large scale stuff.

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96 pages of art and interviews. I’m super excited to have a spread in here:

There are only 100 being released to the public so make haste to their shop before they’re all gone.

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Cocoa Jackson is hosting  a giant art exhibition, film festival, market and wall jam from Thursday the 22nd of March to Sunday the 25th.

On Thursday night is this:

I have a few works in this one.

Saturday will be lots of fun…I’m painting a wall with a bunch of very talented people:

“DIY Street Art Paint Up, Paste up and Sticker up – Saturday 24th March – FREE!
Saturday’s live streamed DIY Street Art event will be a massive paint up of the Cocoa Jackson Studio inside and outside. Over 80 writers working from 10am til late on the studios and feature walls around Cocoa Jackson Lane. Filmed by Punk Milk TV, documented by the Invurt crew; streamed by Online Clubber and pics and vids loaded up by you, via our free wi-fi link! All writers, all styles and the chance to learn from the experts at two free workshops. Plus there will also be a sculpture park and BBQ!”

Heaps more info over at Invurt. Looking forward to it!

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I’ll be showing several pieces at BSG and this one’s making its debut at Artboy.

I also just finished the first piece for an exciting project coming up in September…details very soon!
Here it is:

A couple of cave bats! With some special assistance. A few close ups:

I airbrushed a lot more colours into these beasts as you might be able to tell.

Come along to BSG and Artboy this Friday!

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I loved their bright red and white markings and the way they seem to just hover above the coral, waving those beautiful but deadly fin spikes.

After sketching a few ideas he wasn’t a lionfish anymore, but a swordfish:

He is a little gruesome. Samurai swords fan out from his body and down his back, and blood drips from his wounds to form his markings. Some close ups:

I did enjoy letting the red paint drip down the canvas and tilting it to change the course of the drips. And any excuse to paint samurai swords.

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I’m taking part in the latest Fanboy Vs Artboy themed group show at Artboy Gallery in Prahran, ‘Fairytales & Fables’!

After finding out about the show, I couldn’t figure out which fairytale to paint. I looked through The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen but couldn’t settle on one, until I found the wiki page about ‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin’. Over the years references have been found to a mysterious event in the town of Hamelin in the 13th Century – the disappearance of children, and theories range from plagues, witchcraft and landslides to a Children’s Crusade. A fascinating story, and I had no idea that it was loosely based on a real event.

So…what about a rat as the piper? He could be leading away pests of a different kind…cockroaches. I HATE cockroaches so I thought maybe painting a bunch of them might change my opinion of them.

Here it is:

He had to be ‘pied’ in some way so I gave him a chequered cape and hat. And why not make bits of the cockroaches coloured too. Some close ups:

It was fun to paint but I still hate cockroaches. They are vile.

Come along to Artboy Gallery on Friday the 16th of March to a visual feast of fairytale and fable inspired art: 99 Greville St, Prahran.

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