I was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1981, I left school with six GCSE's two of which were in Art and Design Technology. I then went on to complete a ND in Graphic Design then moved on to BA Hons in Graphic Design and Printing along with Computer Aided Art and Design. I graduated in 2002. I have worked as a Graphic Designer creating logos, flyers and various media elements for local companies, I then moved on to freelance work, designing corporate identity, logo's etc. for clients worldwide. Since then I have been commissioned to design a themed stained glass window for a local wine bar, a summer house ceiling painting and a large canvas print for a local establishment among others.

A lot of my digital work is influenced by Japanese art, both modern and traditional. I have always had an interest in the far eastern islands for as long as I can remember even to go as far as learning to speak, read and write the language.

I am interested in visually fabricating the emotions, mystery and beauty of Japanese Geisha, Geiko and Maiko with a surreal twist. My creative process begins with a drawing. Sketching allows me to visualize and imagine the completed work. My creations are heavily influenced by manga and especially by some of the artists of the Superflat movement. This can be seen in some of the more surreal geisha Images.

I am also intrigued by the wood block artists of 17th Japan and pictures of the floating world (ukiyo-e ). I adore the evanescent, impermanent, fleeting beauty and simplicity of this style. I try to recreate the intensity and colours used in these
pictures in my own artwork, using the medium of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop with the help of Bezier curves to create my characters.

The wonderful thing about using this method is that my artwork can be transferred to anything which has a printable surface.The conditions and methods of artistic creation have changed immensely through development of technology and continue to evolve. I feel my artistic method represents the modern day digital version of ukiyo-e without the complicated process of creating a wood block print.

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