STORYTELLING ART FROM THE STREETS OF LONDON
PLEASE READ: This is not a website, it has been designed to attract interest from potential partners & exhibitors!
Modern
Selfitis
Families
Addiction
Meet the
Singletons
ART INSPIRED BY REAL PEOPLE, REAL FACES & REAL LIFE
100,000's of people captured across 12 inner London Boroughs
Only the most expressive faces are chosen as my portrait muses
10 YEARS
in the
making
Painting life moments laced with comedy, drama and tragedy
This is the story of us, you, me... or someone you might know
It's about capturing human emotions... our thoughts, feelings & behaviours
Step into the world of your alter ego
...walking in the chaotic life of someone else's shoes.
All character portraits are inspired from real people photographed in London
All of my character portraits draw inspiration from real faces photographed in London. Many of these portraits reimagine individuals, placing them in entirely new life situations and inviting them to step into the chaotic shoes of someone else. You're trading places, swapping lives with an exciting new, and perhaps outlandish, alter ego.
Attempting to capture the quintessence of life in 21st Century London
Through my storytelling portraits, I breathe life into hundreds of characters,
capturing, imagining and documenting the quintessence of life in 21st-century London.
In creating this project, I've uncovered a world fueled by ego, pulsating with the rhythms of human drama, continuously unfolding across the realms of work, life, and play.
Each portrait character opens a window into life in modern-day London, they make a dynamic cast of actors, comedians, entertainers, mimics, and impersonators, each writing their own scripts and take their turn performing in the city's relentless theatrical drama.
Amusing, beguiling, engaging and sometimes all too tragic
...I don't think anything like this has ever been done before
'The Grapes of Wrath'
I paint with my emotional intelligence
Our behavior, expression of character, beliefs, love, feelings, emotions, fears, anger, prejudices, intelligence and more are all products of our conscious, and subconscious minds.
So when I capture a photograph or paint a portrait, my artistry is shaped by the emotions, thoughts, feelings, body language, and behaviors of my subjects—elements that lie at the very heart of what it means to be human. These forces influence the good and bad choices we make, the painful experiences we face, and every fragile connection we form.
The "Grapes of Wrath" portrait
A 2023 Mayor of London report revealed alarming levels of bullying, racially motivated harassment, and exploitation of migrant workers... mirroring modern slavery across the city. "The Grapes of Wrath" is a portrait born from a real-life encounter: a young Asian man bent low, cleaning the shoes of an older man of wealth and privilege. The senior man's expression was one of disdain, his face radiating superiority and contempt. This stark, powerful image has remained etched in my memory ever since.
Life often unfolds in such unexpected, absurd, and humorous ways
...It's like a constant source of unintentional comedy
'Nine months later'
RELATIONSHIPS #1
STARRING:
Creating a Scene
Luca
Mustapha
Gordon
& Abi
Plus
Dick the dog
Life is both a tragedy and a comedy—often at the same time.
This portrait scene is inspired by a personal experience I witnessed in a Wetherspoon's pub in London.
I recall a heavily pregnant woman walking into a bar and shouting, "You can wipe that look off
your face... it’s yours."
The streets can offer better theatrical performances than any West End stage
...it's my street theatre of flesh & bone
Capturing the flesh & bone drama
For more than a decade, I've wandered the streets of London recording video, taking photographs and creating portraits of peoples precious life moments, or as I like to call it... the flesh and bone drama of humanity. However, from the moment I captured the pictures, I only truly decided to paint these characters in the year 2020!
The brutal beauty of our existence
On the streets I've witnessed the brutal beauty of our existence, capturing the harsh realities of homelessness, suffering, pain, and poverty, particularly the struggles of those facing mental health challenges. It's been a journey that has led me to understand that our daily lives are made up of a series of conscious or subconscious moments spent in the light, shadows, and darkness of existence. Time spent in the light offers moments of happiness, peace, and contentment. The shadows represent our groundhog days, when we drift aimlessly, relaxing and wasting time. And the darkness is where we stumble, falling into the abyss, traversing the familiar path of the seven deadly sins.
Life swings between comedy and tragedy
...I've witnessed some bazaar things in London!
It's all about the visual narrative
I firmly believe that life swings between comedy and tragedy. So, whenever I create a portrait, I aim to craft a visual narrative that sets the mood, all infused with rich character chemistry. Facial expressions also offer significant clues to a person’s mood, typically falling into categories such as happiness, surprise, contempt, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. In this comic portrait called "Waterloo" the facial expressions give clues to the general mood... and it's all one of disgust.
Discovering the dualities of city life
It's largely an ego-driven life in London, a city that pulses with a rhythm that reflects our inner contradictions—where intelligence and foolishness coexist, vanity and humility are constantly at odds, and greed intertwines with generosity. Here, jealousy often shadows kindness, yet moments of tranquility break through the chaos. It’s a constant dance between the extremes, a reminder of the diversity and complexities that define us all.
Waterloo
I've spent over 10 years painting and drawing in local cafes and bars
...working with a digital tablet has become a game-changer!
The Pub, cafe and a sketch
When I embraced the digital age and began drawing on a tablet, I spent the next 10 years sketching in local cafes and bars, bringing hundreds of characters to life for my storytelling portraits. I will continue to paint and sketch with oils, acrylics & charcoal, but some of the grand, dramatic portraits I envision often require up to 20 individual characters, making the process both challenging and time-consuming. In these cases, working with a digital tablet has become a game-changer, offering a more efficient and effective solution.
Painting & Storytelling
"All the world’s a stage, and all men and women merely players."
This Shakespearean quote resonates deeply with me, as I now perceive all captured/photographed people and citizens as my actors, performers & studio muses.
As a storytelling artist I'm recreating life stories from the streets of London, breathing life into hundreds of diverse characters, each and everyone of them... are my flesh and bone portrait muses.
Street soap opera
Many people watch the drama of life unfold on their television screens, following serialized shows like Eastenders, Coronation Street, and Emmerdale. But in my view, the streets of London provide the ultimate soap opera—offering daily episodes of love, laughter, fleeting emotions, anger, and tragedy. It’s real-life human drama, a place where conscious and subconscious minds unfold and extraordinarily... it's simply the best show in town.
Artists who have inspired me
As an artist I draw much of my inspiration from Caravaggio and William Hogarth, as I deeply connect with the passion in their work. Caravaggio’s art and storytelling, with each character taking on roles that weave a dramatic narrative across the canvas. Whilst Hogarth captured the essence of 18th-century street poverty, politics, culture, money, alcohol, sex and all of society’s darker realities.
My portrait backgrounds often feature cardboard, paper & decaying plaster
...a symbol of the fragility and impermanence of all things!
All things in life inevitably succumb to decay—whether through erosion, deterioration, or the cessation of function—reminding us that nothing is truly permanent, and nothing endures forever
In my portraits, the backgrounds, structures, and walls often feature degraded cardboard, worn paper and decaying plaster walls - all key element that symbolize the passage of time and the inevitable decline that accompanies life. It serves as a symbol of the fragility and impermanence of all things.
The discarded paper packaging and cracked, peeling surfaces all serve as metaphors for transience and expiration, mirroring the inevitable fading of all things—whether buildings, relationships, memories, or human life—reminding us that, whether good or bad, nothing lasts forever.
Art that highlights real-life issues that touches everyone!
Community struggles, relationship challenges, financial hardships,
isolation & loneliness, workplace tensions, social & cultural anxieties
and escalating physical and mental health challenges
small sample selection of digital portraits
Nathan
Rachel
Shailen
Mai
Community comic sketch with focus upon Soho's documented lack of public toilets facilities
Exploring cultural freedoms and entertainment... food for thought, and is more always better?
Crime pays - in a city with high levels of behavioral addictions and impulse control disorders.
Empowered executive women ...spirited, feisty & stressed
...not to be messed with.
Photographic Images may never be released
At first, I don’t plan to release any photographic stills, only the artwork itself. The photos are here for now to showcase the realistic capture of likenesses. The true identities behind the faces may never be fully revealed, and that's part of the intrigue. Imagine the moment when this artwork is exhibited—people will look and wonder, "Hey... is that me?"
If you've ever visited London in the past 10 years
...you could very well be one of my portrait muses!
Capturing one frame of life...
THE PEOPLE'S ART SHOW
small sample selection of oil and acrylic portraits
Pete
Dave
Mehmet
Violet
Exhausted City chef , most work long hours - 50/70 hour weeks, earning little over a living wage
Pete saved his dog from XL Bully breed attack, but his hands were ripped to shreds
The Queen of Soho, a former Berwick Street bingo caller and
famous West End figure
For just one moment, homeless David looked the most isolated and saddest man alive
I'm driven towards the capture of those small emotional moments
...where every experience is a fragmented piece of the human jigsaw puzzle,
each moment adding towards the completed picture-story of our life Odyssey.
Portrait entanglement
As an artist, I can't help but become entangled in the emotional life journey of the person, portrait or sketch I'm creating. Human empathy is both King and Queen!
It's not just about capturing a persons likeness
I love people portraits, as every painting challenges the artist to capture, translate and reveal a persons raw, naked, emotions. I can't paint until I imagine, interpret and hypothesize the human story. I dive deep to find:
-
Our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and motivations
-
Our psyche, body language and behaviors
-
Our personalities, character and ego
-
Our serenity, our courage and weaknesses
-
Our mental health, resilience and fragility
-
Our soul, our spirit and innermost self
I think this more than explains my love affair with human portraiture!
I name all my portrait muses!
Each Muse is carefully assigned a symbolic spiritual London name, which helps me connect with the person and their portrait on a deeper, more empathetic level.
small sample selection of charcoal & mixed media portraits
Nellie
Andy
Maria
Gunter
'Lady with Oranges'
PORTOBELLO ROAD
Charcoal, ink, acrylic paint
'Somebody's Son'
SEVEN DIALS
Charcoal on paper
'Her'
TRAFALGAR SQUARE
Charcoal on paper
'Out with my bitch'
OLD COMPTON ROAD, SOHO
Charcoal on paper
The streets are teeming with actors, performers, impersonators, and comedians. It's a city that emotionally narrates stories of happiness, joy, sorrow, pain, and struggle.
The saga of London is like a tragic Shakespearean play
George
Josephine
Kwame
Betty
Alastair
Edibe & Sam
‘Teasing the animals in their cages'
Much of my paintings are pure street comic opera
...largely based upon humorous situations, packed with frothy and lively characters,
all engaged in humorous plots, parodies, satire or general mayhem.
Over 300 digital drawings and many hundreds of portraits in oil, acrylic & charcoal.
My storytelling portraits capture moments we've all experienced or witnessed—
stories we've overheard, read about, or been told. They're brought to us through
local TV, Internet, radio, the press, and the colorful tales spun by village gossip.
Either way, it's a collection of the often wild and unpredictable things we humans do!
Currently working on a series of playful portraits that attempts to capture...
THE CHEMISTRY OF LOVE & AFFECTION
LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING
'Blowing kisses into the wind'
Newest painting on the go... Mr & Mr couple captured in Soho Gardens...
Romeo & Juliet
