I never planned to become Spoonman. I’d actually wanted to stop painting altogether. It happens every once and a while, I either burn myself out, go mad trying to store the paintings or crack it with some aspect of the art world. “I’m giving up painting. No more painting, EVER!” This time I wouldn’t go in my studio. About two days into my new life, I was wiping a soup spoon at the sink and bang! I thought that painting on the spoon would be a beautiful surface. Like aluminium. And I could do it in the house, just muck around, it would help fill the time. They became like an extension of my sketch books, I was not expecting to do anything with them.
The first spoon I painted was of me (a blank canvas with an unknown future), then came animals, insects and landscapes, moving to portraits of master painters and interpretations of iconic artworks. About a week in, renewed, I was back in the studio working on larger portraits of Klimt, Sargent and van Gogh. Paying homage.
I continue spooning whenever inspiration strikes. About 20 portraits on spoons will be included in my November exhibition at Metropolis, along with a series of postcard-size works and new large works.
