In 1986, I stumbled upon a book called Posters: A Concise History by John Barnicoat and it changed everything. I spent years analysing every page. Originally published in 1972, it charts the evolution of poster design from the 1800s to the early ’70s (and may have been revised since). It’s packed with full-colour reproductions: 1960s psychedelia, Bauhaus compositions, war propaganda, and more.
In 1990 I saw Twin Peaks and it changed my life. I didn’t realise at the time that there hadn’t been a TV show like it before, and honestly, there still hasn’t. It felt like someone had broadcast a dream, or a shared hallucination. The weirdness, the music, the unnerving calm, it all stuck with me in a way nothing else on TV ever had. It made the surreal feel normal and the normal feel deeply strange. That tension still finds its way into my work.
Music is the single greatest influence on my painting. Certain artists, specific lyrics, entire genres — they all fuel the ideas and imagery behind my work. At the bottom of this page, you’ll find some playlists that I often listen to while creating — feel free to explore and stream them.
There are certain books that have burrowed deep into my brain and stayed there, quietly (or loudly) influencing the way I draw, think, and create. It might be a bit of a cliché for underground artists to cite Catcher in the Rye as a major inspiration, but clichés exist for a reason. That book just makes sense. There’s something about its voice, its disillusionment, its honesty, it felt like someone finally put the noise in my head into words.
I spent most of my teenage years bingeing horror films, but it’s the stranger, more mind-bending ones that really get under my skin—the ones that make you question what you’ve just watched, or even what reality is. Donnie Darko is probably my all-time favourite. I hardly ever rewatch films, but that one I could loop endlessly.