I was born tiny but now I am much bigger.
I live in the coastal village of Haumoana, Aotearoa, New Zealand.
I have a Diploma in Visual Arts and a Diploma in Waka Ama, a wife, three kids, my own business and a healthy dose of existential dread.
I enjoy illustrating the ideas that form in my head and I like the act of bringing these concepts to life, whether photographic, cartoon, digital, paint or handcraft.
I am a self-employed graphic artist and maker for a living. I am also a curator and part-owner of the Department of Curiosities and Fine Things in Napier, a retail store that specialises in showcasing New Zealand hand-made creations. My hand-made products can be found retailed under the label Fat Spatula.
In a past iteration I was King Andy – King of Haumoana. I had a weekly kids page in the local paper, Hawke’s Bay Today, which had a cult-following of children and senior citizens.
I consider my work to be deeply shallow and I enjoy bringing a smile to peoples faces. I like it when others do the intellectualising about my work, they can often find more meaningful and deeper insights than I was aware of. I am just in it for the laughs …. and world domination.
My paintings are done in both acrylic and oils, often on stretched canvas but also on old op-shop prints. I like to give these tired, unwanted prints a new lease of life. I enjoy looking at an existing scene created by an artist and re-imagining the script. Kind of like telling the punch-line to a joke that someone else has set the stage for. In these works the backstory is everything.
I am connected to Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in a number of ways, I grew up in Waipawa, I currently live in Haumoana and I work in Napier. I am an active paddler and Chairperson of Waka Ama with the Heretaunga Ararau O Ngati Kahungunu Waka Ama Roopu. I am also an active crew member on Te Matau a Māui, the voyaging waka based in Napier. As a crew member I was privileged to be a part of the Tuia 250 opening and closing ceremonies in Gisborne in 2019, and in January 2022 was part of the crew that sailed to the Chatham Islands and back using traditional navigation techniques. The latest adventure was sailing from Napier to Kaiteretere in Nelson for Te Hau Komaru 2024, a week long festival celebrating waka hourua.
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