The inspiration for much of my work
has come from the experiences, influences and images of my
life. This provides the fuel for imagination and fantasy which
in turn creates the basic structure and energy of a project
for me.
When I think back to the early influences
of my life, I realize how important each decision I made or
situation I have been faced with, has burnt itself into the
fabric of who I am today. Of course, this is true for everyone,
but there is another aspect to what makes us an individual,
and this is our spirit. The realms of positive and negative
energy and the subtle combination of these extremes mixed
together with the defining moments of one's life brings us
closer to the truth.
Born and raised in the North of England,
I found myself at 30 years old, very disillusioned with my
"environment", a crossroads, if you will, and a
chance to re-discover myself and life outside the goldfishbowl
I had been brought up in.
I left England with a backpack, tent
and a one-way ticket to Bangkok. Within 3 days I had landed
in Haadrin, a small settlement at the tip of an island called
Koh Phangan, off Thailand's south coast. It was 1991 and I
found a kind of paradise, a couple of hundred travellers from
all over the world, celebrating life on those idyllic beaches.
Dancing all night in the sand to a new kind of electronic
music, that I had never heard before. This was my introduction
to Goa-Trance music and blacklight art.
Preparation for these parties was extremely
ritualistic, using (like the hippies from the Sixties) lots
of fluorescent paint, full of tribal images and figures like
Shiva, Ganesh and other deities from Hinduism as well as various
other symbolic images held sacred by many indigenous peoples.
With fluorescent paints it was as if the artists were painting
with light itself, and the creative potential that using such
colours had, blew me away.
During this time I got to hear many
travellers' tales of the beautiful, strange and exotic mosaic
that our world really is. For the first time in my life I
felt free and truly inspired to meet such wonderful people
from every corner of our planet. I realized that my life was
changing, I felt full of purpose and energy as I began a voyage
of discovery.
My travels took me around much of South
Asia and South America before landing in San Francisco in
the summer of 1995. Whilst there, I learned of the local art
from the psychedelic 60's era and how it's influence resonates
around the globe as much today as ever. Just to be in San
Francisco was inspiring, and I painted frequently as the ideas
flowed through me. It was 3 years later in 1998 that I met
my soulmate Moni on a return trip to San Francisco after some
time in India and Nepal.
For sure, Moni was the catalyst I needed
to focus on painting, and we flew back to Germany together
as she had to complete her degree at university. So at last,
I had the opportunity, after all the years of absorbing, to
dig deep into myself and begin to express the experiences
and emotions that I had acquired in an artistic way.
I began to paint backdrops for decoration
at festivals and clubs all over Europe. This allowed me time
to be introspective and I soon found myself painting between
8 and 10 hours almost every day. For the past six years I
have devoted myself to my art, making mistakes along the way,
I have taught myself by trial and error, experimenting with
a lot of ideas. I use acrylic paint, mixing fluorescent, metallic
and regular colours to get the visual effect I am looking
for. I apply the paint with paint gun, airbrush and paintbrush
using handmade stencils and freehand techniques.
The process for me begins with the
concept, a feeling, emotion or idea, usually just before sleeping
or during REM sleep, this is the seed for a painting project.
What I then try to do is somehow bring individual life into
each piece, to give the painting it's own energy whether it
be spititual, meditational, sexual, calming, or merely thought
provoking in an attempt to stir emotion, conversation and
ideas in other people. The objective therefore is to bring
positive energy and optimism to my work and then share it
with others.
In December 2002 with the help of my
friend, Robert Schrem, www.psychedelic-art.com was built and
put onto the web as a showcase for my work. I received so
much enthusiastic feedback (currently in excess of 1 million
visitors), a lot of love and positive energy has flowed back
to me, this I find extremely inspirational and encouraging.
Modern art in Europe so often is filled
with dark and bleak images, mechanized and tormented visions
that leave me deflated and somehow tainted by its negativity.
I conciously try to work at the other end of the spectrum.
After all, art is only a reflection
of life as the artist sees it, and I want to celebrate life.
It is the attitude we have to ourselves and our environment
today, that creates and shapes the future. Energy and time
are our two most valuable possesions.
Often maturity comes from conditioning
by past experiences and my true goal is to go beyond conditioning,
as we are not bundles of programmed reflexes and nerves, constantly
being triggered by people and circumstances into predictable
outcomes ......... we have choices. The more conciously we
make choices in the direction of creating joy and fulfillment
for ourselves and those around us, the more life is filled
with positive energy.
I hope that you enjoy my humble efforts,
please e-mail me your thoughts and comments at robbie@psychedelic-art.com.
Posters are now available from this website. To check them
out click here
.
Peace
Robbie
(updated : April 2007)
Winner 2007 3Datelier
Visual Art Award
Winner 2006 3Datelier
Visual Art Award
Featured Artist in Mushroom
Magazine Issue August 2005, including Artist-Sticker-Card
of the Painting 'Quest'
