When I came across the ‘Idle man’ quote from John Wesley it seemed to sum my life up. I’ve been a picture framer, and latterly a fine art printer, for knocking on 35 years but somehow my brain is always going off at a tangent. My workshop always seems to accumulate ‘projects’ in all shapes and sizes from Hygena cupboards to East German motorcycles.
I’ve collected and been interested in ephemera all my life. My motorcycle and car literature has been successfully recycled digitally into the posters and prints that I produce and have sent all over the world through my Etsy shop and Ebay. Flicking through my bundles of 50’s and 60’s mags I have always loved the simple black and white classified ads, with their vintage fonts and tiny logos. I’ve also always been a fan of vintage amusements and ‘penny machines’, often crudely and colourfully hand painted. I’ve tried my hand at combining the two and have signwriten a few hand painted signs inspired by these period images. Where possible I use recycled timber or surplus pallets. Give me a pot of my enamel paints and I’m off!
Period artwork taken from between the magazine covers and recycled into wall art
Vintage hand tools are another interest. I cant walk past a neglected woodworking tool without an overpowering urge to rescue it. Somehow when you hold something that has been a proud possession of a craftsman ( often with a former keepers name proudly stamped on it ) you can’t help thinking of all the items that it has made over the years. Some items are beautiful enough to be displayed just for their aesthetics, some are functional and still good enough to use, and others can carry on their life with a different purpose like the sign written saws in my handpainted signs.
A box of ‘barn find’ mahogany moulding planes.
Recycled Cromer crab pot rope waiting for reinvention.
Pallet wood comes in a variety of sizes and colours
