My background & advancement into art

While my primary profession is as a patent and trademark attorney and principal of the IP firm IPRIMA, I have always had a creative passion. For the visual arts, this probably started around the age of 8 when I started photography. As I couldn't afford much film, I spent considerable time reading and studying photographic techniques. At the age of 11 I convinced my parents to buy me an enlarger, and from then the toilet became out of bounds for long periods on weekends as my temporary darkroom - the only room I could easily black out.

When I started work as an attorney, my creative passions took the back burner only to resurface prior to the birth of my daughter Phaeora in 2001. Prior to this I decorated one of the rooms as a childrens room. Eschewing stereotypical pink or blue schemes, as well as bright schemes based on primary colours in overabundance, the "baby to be's room" became a visual symphony of tertiary colours, having a trompe l'oeil mural on the ceiling and a tiled floor with inlays to resemble a pond.

Digital photography became more accessible around 2001, and like any proud parent enjoyed being able to take thousands of shots of the new family addition without the expense of film. I found my passion for photography returned but also found that being able to instantly review a digital image significantly advanced my photographic skills - you could keep retaking a shot (depending on the subject) until the composition and exposure were correct. Soon you found that getting the composition and exposure perfect first time became the norm, and you could focus more on creativity.

In 2007 I had a back injury which limited my mobility. I decided to spend time painting a few pieces in acrylic, but soon ran out of time. In late 2009 I decided to take a WSA (Waikato Society of Arts) course in improving art skills - the main motivation was to advance my skill in acrylic media, and also because I found that if I didn't get away from the distractions of house and office then spending time painting was unlikely.

Inspired by my tutor Nici Peacock, who seemed to be able to unlock and refine latent talent I appeared to possess, I progressed in fits and starts. At the beginning of 2010 I took a break from painting and started drawing with pencil. I soon found that I enjoyed portraiture, though realised that it was more enjoyable if I knew the character of the person. My first pencil portrait, of Nici, is still one of my favourites and surprised me in that it captured Nici's spirit and essence quite aptly - somewhere along the way I had deviated from merely creating a reproduction of the reference photo.

An artist friend suggested I do self-portraits for a while, which was good as an exercise for experimenting with different styles and media. I found pastels to be an exciting media if you were prepared to be bold (to the right is my first attempt with pastels - a self portrait).

I then moved on to ink (with brush) inspired by Sharon Pinsker's book, and for a while studied minimalising detail to a minimum but while still conveying significant information about the subject - using the viewer's eye and brain to complete the picture.

This then progressed to watercolours, which I adore (now that I realise the vibrancy and moodiness achievable with this media). Again I use watercolours mainly for portraiture, though might do a landscape one day.

Most recently I have reverted back to acrylics - mainly because I aim to complete a series of pictures in which the majority will best be painted in acrylic or oil (though I am reluctant to progress to oil and am looking at Golden's open acrylics instead). Some may be painted in watercolour.

One thing I have learned through trying different media is that often, when I envision something I wish to create, the type of media I should use screams out to me. In this way I feel uninhibited in the creative process, and pity all those artists who handicap themselves into using one type of media only.