How you got into art: 

Art was always the subject I would find as an escapism in school. I didn’t  thrive in the subject but i never felt i needed to - I found the creative process of developing ideas very rewarding and would pursue my own personal projects during lunch break with friends. That feeling never went away but i lost that self motivating drive when i left for Uni. It was only when I moved back home to Bristol that my creativity reignited in the form of fine art and I began painting and ‘getting out there’.

Who you are loving on the Bristol scene at the moment: 

The Bristol art scene currently is the best it has ever been in my opinion. I don’t know what it is about this city, maybe it's the sweet fragrance of spray cans or the inviting signs of street art spreading across the city like a urban art canvas. There is certainly a taste in the air for creativity. 

New art pops up everywhere, whether it’s on the streets or the galleries or in your local cafe, It is hard not to be influenced. Currently I love seeing new pieces by Sepr and Tom Miller. They have the perfect mixture of surrealism and humour to their respected artworks and each piece seems to be a step up from the last. The amount of times I have been late going somewhere because i have stopped and marveled at one of their works….it’s lots.

I have began turning my paintings and creations into stencils and one of my favourite artists doing the same is Angus. His 8bit stencil takes on popular video game characters which stand out bold and colourful on the streets, bringing an enjoyable sense of childhood nostalgia with a modern edge to his work. Stenciling, I feel, is still taboo amongst street artists and especially graff artists - but Angus has managed to find a subject that we can all relate to and we see beyond the technique and focus on the message.

What your studio looks like:  

My studio is my second home. I have a desk space in Hamilton House which can only be described as a neat cluster of creativity with a desk that looks like a Jackson Pollock painting and shelves full of paints, plants and prints from various favourite artists such as Angus, Neil Roberts and Inkie.

Can you tell me more about your entry for the Bristol Pound 

"Working in Bristol Zoo during the summer of 2015 was an inspirational god send.  I had just moved back to the city and had discovered a hidden talent for painting.  I would spend my lunch breaks sketching all sorts of animals to take home to paint, from the strange, to the exotic, to my favourites - the lion brothers.

"Bristol Zoo Gardens is famous for their Asiatic Lions, so I thought it was only fitting to paint the two brothers and present them as a colourful canvas duo.

"I think Keton and Kamraan would make a fitting piece for the Bristol Pound as they are not only Bristol boys, born and bred, but they represent Bristol's ongoing support for conservation and saving the rare and endangered.  With only 350 left in the world we should celebrate the fact that our city is home, and haven, to the most endangered large cat species in the world."

Good luck with the Pound - and if you are reading this on 11th March (last day for voting) please vote for our lad here today!! https://bristolpound.typeform.com/to/VoaisH