The Bill

A painting leaves the studio the way a kid leaves home: bubble-wrapped in everything you couldn’t say, nervous, a little overdressed, and absolutely sure it belongs somewhere else now.

A lot of artists don’t want to connect with collectors. That’s a mistake. If a part of you goes into the art, it makes sense that you’d love to connect with the person who loves that picture enough to put it in their home.

My favourite thing about being an artist is connecting with collectors. Talking with them. I talk all day about how I feel, so it’s refreshing to hear how someone who watches and wants the art feels: what resonates with them, what doesn’t. That connecting element is the only reason art matters, in my mind anyway.

If a collector buys a painting, it’s not just, here’s a pretty picture, hang it in your home. It’s also: I know the artist was made better by making this. Yes, the artist can now buy some food and keep a roof over their head. But more importantly, I’m bringing that artist’s good energy, good vibe and good intention into my home. I don’t want to bring an artist’s negative intention into my home.

We love the idea that on the real Starry Night we can see where the paint was stroked. That’s the one Van Gogh touched. That object sat beside him while he looked at the night sky and put paint on it. We believe it’s special because of that. Call it the aura of the painting. Don’t let your aura be anything other than personal growth and joy. You owe that not just to yourself, but to every collector who wants to believe in your work.

Every commission I take starts the same way. Someone writes, and I write back:

Short answer: I’d love to.

I’ll film and share the entire process so you’ll know exactly how things are tracking. Works take twelve layers on average. That gives me plenty of runway for long replay videos and fiery short videos, for a bit of fun. It’s delivered ready to hang. All you need is a good hook or screw and you’ll be totally golden. The work has a custom-built protective travel case, designed to be kept. If you move house, store the work, or have something else special to protect, the case is perfect for just that.

Let it feel right.

Then the slow part. The good part.

Before I start dreaming up ideas, show me more of your travel photos. Don’t be shy. Inundate me.

Our surface is almost ready to paint on. The photographs are up around my studio to gaze at. The one we locked on first still feels right. Let’s talk about this place. I want to understand how you feel about it. Go deep or, if it feels right, keep it simple. I’m here for either.

Then the work is finished, and sometimes it isn’t. “First off, thanks for your unbelievable patience with me. Framed and boxed, the work was ready to leave the studio. Your artist tore open the box to add a few more layers. A video is attached below. I want this piece to be perfect.”

And then, sometimes, months later, an email comes back the other way, with a photo of the painting on a wall I’ve never stood in front of.

I think social media has done for the art world what streaming did for music. Do we agree with everything about it? Irrelevant. You’ve now got almost all the music in human existence in your pocket, and Jeff Bezos listening to Ed Sheeran hears the same song you do. Everyone’s involved at the same value. Art isn’t there yet. You don’t get all the art you’ve ever wanted, anywhere in the world, for free. I don’t fully understand how it will happen, but I think art will get there too. Nobody will be gatekept from the best experience of art.

Until then, I paint live, and anyone can pull up a chair.

"I'd love to see photos that make you feel a little something. The best place to find them is your camera roll, and, weirdly enough, the 'photographic quality' of a photo holds very little sway over whether it turns into a beautiful painting."

"Let's talk about this place. I want to understand how you feel about it. Go deep or, if it feels right, keep it simple."

"We're probably looking down the barrel of about seven more layers at the moment, but we'll see how we go. The paint's getting really thick, and it's going to look so great in different lighting."

"The more time we play with the longer we get to connect."

"Connection is the single most important reason to create art."