Gallery2

After university I took a year travelling around the world seeing some incredible sights and really trying to understand the cultures. Probably my two favourite places to visit were Indonesia and New Zealand. On arrival back in the UK with quite a lot of debt but a whole stack of memories, I went to work for an IT company but not as a developer, in the sales and marketing team. The reason behind this decision was a desire to work as part of a team and the opportunity to network with clients. I have been involved in web development and UX in my most recent job roles and started making generative art back in 2020 after various requests and commissions from friends and family.

When the lockdown hit in the UK and I was unable to go out and visit clients, this unexpected pandemic allowed me more time to focus on my art and ultimately led to my decision to pursue generative art as a full-time career. In some ways this was a gamble for a 43 year old but a risk my family and I were willing to take. Put simply, my career goals are to continue making art that I enjoy, I feel like I am only just getting started on this journey and have lots more ideas floating around in my mind to commit to code. One day I would love to have my own solo exhibition in a renowned gallery and to have a huge animated piece exhibited in a public space. Whilst I am working on these goals, in the short term I hope to inspire others to create their own art and to raise the profile of generative art among more traditional collectors. As a member of a few Discord groups I regularly chat with other creative coders and both give and take second opinions from a select group whose judgement I trust.

My first NFT 'Ripple Effect' was made using Pico-8 and my second, 'Dripping Pixels' has been my profile picture ever since August 2021. What I love about Pico-8 is that it is so restrictive. Because you are working with a 128 x 128 grid and only 16 colours you have to work on pushing the grid to it's limits. I enjoy making Pico-8 tweet carts, where I use 280 characters or less to make a generative work. I was already starting to make work in P5.js when FXHash was set up, for example with 'Generative Flowers'. Due to this experience, I was able to create project #100 on that platform and have really enjoyed making P5.js work ever since. My latest piece of work was a collaboration with Paper Buddha, where we spent three months creating generative Paper Mandalas. Mandalas dating back to the 4th century are arguably one of the original generative art types, along with Roman mosaics which I like to class at the original pixel-art!

Being asked to create a piece as a tribute to the late Herbert W. Franke along with some of the generative art pioneers like Frieder Nake and Vera Molnar and more recent prominent artists like Casey Reas, Mario Klingemann and Zancan is right up there as one of my greatest successes. Also having separate works selected by both Kate Vass, and Paris Hilton for their curated shows at NFT Liverpool this Summer have been the highlights of my artistic career. My biggest success, however, has been creating a loving family home with my wife and two children who support me on my artistic journey.

I have made more than enough mistakes in life, but genuinely feel that every decision, right or wrong has got me to the position I am in now, so no regrets!