Q - Where do you get your ideas from?

A - Ideas come largely from random thoughts. You might say from 'day dreaming'. This may take the form of flashes from animal documentaries/movies/paintings etc. One other source is just to draw freely, to see what interesting shapes and characters come into being.

 

Q - How do you achieve such fine detail in your work?

A - You have to use the finest, best quality brushes and paints to attain very fine detail in acrylic. The same goes for drawing in pencil and ink. Of course the surface you work on is just as important. I have composed a page of all the art materials I use. You can access it here.

 

Q - Does music help you while working?

A - Yes it does. For fine meticulous work I prefer soft classical music kept on a low volume. When there is less real thinking involved(e.g. doing backgrounds, block filling of colour), I can sometimes drift into something more recent and louder eg George Michael, Queen, E.L.O., even Ramstein!

 

Q - Who are your favourite artists?

A - Salvador Dali, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte, Thomas Gainsborough, William Hogarth, Thomas Lawrence, Anthony Van Dyck, . . . The list goes on.

 

Q - How do I purchase your original artwork?

A - Answer

 

Q - What print sizes do you sell?

A - For posters, the print size is A2 (16.5 x 23.4 in. - 420 × 594 mm).

     For giclee, the print sizes are for standard frames sizes 14" x 11" , 16" x 12" , 16" x 20" etc.

 

Q - What quality are the prints you sell?

A - For posters, CMYK printing on High Quality 250gsm silk finish paper

     For giclee, on Elegance 320g Cotton Rag

 

Q - How long does it take for delivery of items bought from the Store?

A - For the UK and Europe, orders should be delivered within a week of being posted.

     Orders overseas take longer depending on the region e.g. USA approx. 5 to 7 working days.

 

Q - What is your 'returns' policy?

A - The 'Returns Policy' is part of a group of policy documents:

     'Shipping Policy', 'Terms of Use', 'Privacy Policy' .

     Links to these can be found at the bottom of each webpage.

 

Q - Do you do commissioned work?

A - Yes I do, but infrequently. The subject matter must be agreed on and lend itself to a surrealist treatment. After a prelimenary sketch, a size is decided upon and an approximate completion date. As a guide, cost is about the same as for original works. However, a 10% deposit on the agreed price is a requirement for work to start.

 

Q - Why do you paint surreal art?

A - I have always enjoyed surreal art since childhood. It was always there, hidden in the illustrations in fairy stories and science fiction magazines I read. Who doesn't remember trees with faces, animated rocks, dragons and the grisled faces of witches?; and don't forget the Aliens and their alien landscapes. As far as choosing a genre to paint, surrealism gives an artist freedom to do lterally anything. You are not always locked into the constraints of realism. So your choices of form and colour are much wider. Besides, surrealism lets in the element of humor into a painting. You have to enjoy what you are doing. It has to be fun!

 

Q - What is the significance of the "J" in your name?

A - The "J" in my name is first of all because I wasn't given a middle name. The significance of the letter "J" is in memory of my uncles, Jim and Jack. They used to draw. Jim was a cartoonist, while Jack liked drawing buildings and objects. Neither were art trained or were jobbing artists. Art was more of a past-time to them. But the memory of their art is still an inspiration to me and evidence that artistic talent is a family trait.