I was inspired to create this series on a four-day long mushroom-taking, chakra-opening, trip in Amsterdam, when divine light shone upon me and I had a vision.

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Just kidding, I am, in fact, a loser who works 6 days a week as an averagely good bartender and very mediocre childminder. Somehow I have been entrusted with the younger generation's youth and your generation's Guinness. Until recently I’ve tended to put a lot of pressure on any art that I create to look a certain way for the audience's perception, as opposed to just making something for the fun of making it. This comes as no surprise as, for the past 4 years, almost everything that I did creatively was to be offered up for assessment and critiques from my lecturers. Since my graduation, this has been the first time in a long time that I’ve been able to make art just for the fun of it again.  

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‘Man with a Fish Hat 1’ was made in collaboration with Thea, aged 3, while we sat on my couch eating beans and watching Peter Rabbit. I caught myself trying to ‘fix’ the painting as we were working on it but eventually, was too amused by her wonderful willingness to add fish to the man's hat and hairs to the middle of my meticulously painted eyebrows. 

 

It has been so wonderful allowing myself to take on my old childhood creativity and make silly paintings just for fun. It has allowed me to sink into the old meditative state of creating without the pangs of pressure - even if my proportions are a little bit off (which they generally are).  

 

I was so inspired by her boundless creativity that I decided to re-create it in my own funky style that evening. And so with absolutely no expectations, or at least, far less than I usually have when I start a piece, ‘Man with a Fish Hat 2’ was created.