Unearthing My Artistic Roots
A Trip Down Memory Lane: Launching My ‘Juvenilia’ Gallery! 🎨✨
Every artist has to start somewhere, but we rarely show the messy, experimental, and sometimes hilarious beginnings of our journeys. Usually, we only want to share the polished, finished oil paintings. But recently, I have been digging through my old archives, and I decided it was finally time to share the raw origins of my artistic voice.
‘Red Guitar’, 1989
Pen and Pencil on Paper
Welcome to my Juvenilia: Early Works and Roots Project!
I have put together a brand-new digital gallery on my website dedicated entirely to the sketches, doodles, and paintings I did as a teenager and young adult. Looking back at these pieces has been an incredible reminder of how my current style as a narrative surrealist came to be.
Here is a little sneak peek into what you will find in the new gallery:
Pop Culture & The ‘1980s Girls’: Like many young artists, I learned by copying what I loved. I have included a whole section of pencil sketches inspired by 80s teen magazines, birthday cards, and the iconic ATHENA posters of the era! It is a true time capsule of giant hair, bold makeup, and vintage fashion. 🕶️
Family Collaborations: Creativity was a shared joy in my house. You will see a very special piece from 1989 where I collaborated on a pencil sketch with my Dad - he drew the house and trees, and I built the landscape around it.
The Birth of the Mythos: This is perhaps the most exciting part for me. As you scroll, you can physically see the shift where I stopped copying what was outside and started drawing what was inside. Pieces like my 1989 ‘Subconscious Self-Portrait’ and ‘Giant Cosmic Tree’ prove that the cosmic, visionary style I paint today has actually been brewing in my imagination for decades! 🌳👁️
Synaesthesia & Musical Muses: Music has always heavily influenced my work. The gallery wraps up with pieces inspired by everything from Led Zeppelin to intricate, abstract pen-and-ink doodles created while experiencing the synaesthesia of visualizing music as patterns and shapes. 🎶
Punk Attitude ‘80’s Girl’
Pencil on Paper. 1989.
Putting this gallery together has been a deeply personal and rewarding experience. It shows that my current fine art is not just a recent phase, but the result of a lifelong fascination with nature, music, and the subconscious.
I would absolutely love for you to take this journey with me.
Grab a cup of tea, have a scroll through my early roots, and let me know which era of my early art is your favourite! 🌿🌻