1. In your opinion, which artists do you believe to be your contemporaries - artists that have risen through the ranks with you?

The artists that I consider to be in the same genre as me and therefore to carry similar stylistic renditions and meaning - or at least those artists I identify with are: Mark Ryden, Audrey Kawasaki, Tomer Hannukah, Kevin Earl Taylor, Shepard Fairey, Dave Kinsey, Plasticgod, Kehinde Wiley, Molly Crabapple, Jamie Hewlett (of Tank Girl and Gorillaz), Blaine Fontana, Camille Rose Garcia, James Jean, D-Face, Tim Biskup, Lori Earley (she made me want to have my art stolen), Tara McPherson. My work ranges in and out of these styles and mostly charts its own course based around the dissimilar ideas of GI JOE, Star Wars, M.A.S.K., Care Bears, Build-a-Bear (kiss the chest to make the heart start beating), My Little Pony, all on one side and the occult with its twists and turns, pagan stories, false idols, and pretty masks all on the other side. We like to joke, "It's boys gone wild."


2. What is the name of the man to whom you apprenticed under and learned miniature painting from?

Solomon Witt. He claims to have worked for DC Comics filling in their color. I believe it too. He is a great painter and excellent at shading. He is, in my opinion, the best Games Workshop has to offer. He paints the BEST hazard stripes. :) Solomon was in a very bad bus accident and was virtually paralyzed. He has since made a recovery with little complications and during that time he taught me to paint. I had just left a meaningless and boring job as Pharmaceutical Patent Litigator and had decided to dedicate my life to creating beautiful - at that time - miniature soldiers for tabletop games. My friends thought I was nuts - a lunatic. cause what could be more pointless than spending your days building toy soldiers and painting them really good. But doing this with Solomon almost everyday for almost a year provided the ultimate foundation for me as an artist. Plus I have some really beautiful miniatures if anyone cares. :)

3. Dates, dates, dates! Basically, all-important milestones in your life in timeline format (day, month, year and location)
* Birth
* Marriage
* Education
* Your Geography
* Date you turned "Pro" - the day you decided to be an artist & give it  everything you got

Birth:  
September 27, 1976

Marriage:
September 13th year unimportant

Education:
BSC - Bachelors of Science, specialising in Biochemistry and Biological Sciences
Auckland University
LLB - Bachelors of Law (equivalent to JD in USA)
Victoria University School of Law, Wellington NZ
LLM - Masters of Law
specialising in Patent Litigation, focus on Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University

Geography:
Birth till 1986 South Africa - Johannesburg
1986 to 1991 tumultuous years with much travel between South Africa and USA and even New Zealand.
1991-1994 Texas and New Zealand
New Zealand till 2000 then New York for 6 years.

I am not sure when I turned pro. It was more like lifestyle change and then suddenly no longer part of lame real world, part of pretend pretty world. I don't know the date, Jess may.

4. In your own words, what are the defining characteristics of your art?

My art is defined by many technical and personal obsessive traits. For instance, I only use 3 types of paint (and sometimes an extra type). My color range is very similar throughout my work - even if the colors are diverse the same colors pop up again and again. My two biggest bodies of work are on either vellum and encased in resin OR national rifle association paper targets and mounted on boarding. I enjoy the complete circle that the target has in black on it and it is nice to paint around these veritable boulders in the road (so to speak). My art covers a broad range of topics including the pop art phenomena of recycling mainstream brands into cool, perverse, evil, or twisted symbols - the symbols that they have come to mean. i.e.: McDonalds is great, but it's cooler to see McDonalds with fangs and claws or the all Seeing Eye. I like the all Seeing Eye very much and any symbol relating to the human soul or human experience. I like skulls cause it represents the end of a human experience and a new journey beginning. I seek happiness more than anything and shun sadness with intensity. I am a firm believer that humanity is destined to become one with machine/computers and our destiny is space faring and virtual. (we may already be in a virtual world and not know it). My art incorporates all of this and from a naughty little boy perspective.
:)
true story.