An Homage To Hollywood @ 19 Karen

Here are photos of opening night @ An Homage To Hollywood, 19 Karen Contemporary Artspace, Gold Coast, Australia, copyright Mark Bermingham.

The Lost Boys

Here are the 3 finished large scale canvases from my mini series "The Lost Boys"; River Phoenix, Heath Ledger and Corey Haim. They are currently on display at 19 Karen Contemporary Artspace, Gold Coast, Australia, and will arrive in London for exhibition at The Brick Lane Gallery in May 2013.

I am also working on 4 more smaller canvases in the series, each 60cm x 60cm. These are Brad Renfro, Christopher Pettiet, Jonathan Brandis and Sage Stallone.

The Lost Boys - Corey Haim

Here are some photos of the work-in-progress leading up to finish of the first painting from my new series: "The Lost Boys"; of Corey Haim in said movie.

My boyfriend's nephew Wynton will give you an idea of their size, 1.7m x 1.7m each (approximately 3 cms taller than me!)

The series will explore the turbulent nature of child celebrity. The seven subjects were a generation of boys all born in the 1970s or early 80s, and all began acting in childhood. I grew up watching them in Hollywood movies like “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead”, “Stand By Me”, “License To Drive,” “The Neverending Story II”, “Rocky V”, “Sleepers” and “10 Things I Hate About You”. All died due to substance abuse or suicide in their 20s and 30s.

Just a few more sequins left to embroider....

Finished painting: "Corey Haim (1971-2010) as Sam Emerson".

The series will be shown as part of The "Homage to Hollywood" Group Exhibition at 19 Karen Contemporary Artspace, Mermaid Beach,  opening 1st December 2012.

More John Galliano

I'm sure that I am not alone in hoping that recent meetings with Grace Coddington and Anna Wintour will lead to John Galliano's triumphant return to brilliance. Until then, I will keep creating illustrations inspired by his magnificent design career.

Free Pussy Riot!

Mexican wrestling mask-wearing, Russian all-girl punk rock band Pussy Riot staged a concert in a Moscow orthodox church earlier this year, prior to the Russian election. The band sang a song asking Mary to free Russia from the hands of Putin. Since then 3 of their members have been arrested and held in prison, where they face a jail term of up to 7 years. Amnesty International has said that it considers the three women to be prisoners of conscience "detained solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs."

Reading of their plight made me think of how many times I might have been arrested should I have been a Russian artist, and how lucky I am to have grown up with freedom of speech. I created these 4 badges to wear on my various Russian hats, in support of the band and to reinforce that my wearing of military clothing in no way constitutes support of corrupt governments, nationalism or warmongering.

Metro Award 2012

Photos from The Metro Award 2012 announcement and exhibition opening night, 18th July 2012. Thanks to photographer Amy Lobb.

Metro Award Nomination!

I am delighted to announce that I have been selected as 1 of 25 finalists in The Metro Award 2012:
http://www.metrogallery.com.au/exhibitions/60/2012-metro-gallery-art-award/
Here is my selected piece: