Cover Artist… Brentos

How did your fresh Mona Pub mural come to life?

I received a little DM from Ben, the Mona Pub owner, saying they were opening up a new grassy area and had a couple of blank walls that needed some love. I popped in the next day, saw the walls tucked under the Norfolk Pines, and knew the space could be brighter and more fun. The result was a big surfing-koala mural (like the cover!) that families and the community can enjoy while having lunch or a drink in the new garden area.

Are you creating artworks for Formula 1?

Vroom Vroom! Not quite! I applied to design a poster for the VCARBs F1 team and, to my surprise, got an email saying they’d love me to take part. The catch? I had just two days to pull it together. It was a wild sprint, but honestly so fun to try something completely different from my usual briefs.

You’re an enigmatic man, was that the inspiration to release your debut Brentos puzzle?

Haha! Not exactly. I’ve just always felt my art would suit a puzzle. I worked with a supplier to design the packaging and materials, then used an artwork from one of my books and added a seek-and-find element to it. It turned out a treat, and I’ve got loads more artworks ready to go if people love these as much as we hope.

Northern Beaches Hospital Paediatric ward now has a Brentos mural. Was that an emotional and uniquely fulfilling project?

It’s been a highlight of my career. A few years ago, an amazing nurse named Pippa reached out asking if I’d consider donating some artwork for the ward. She organised the printing and installation, and before long four murals were up throughout the space. A year later she contacted me again to do the entrance, an easy yes. The feedback has been so heartwarming. Parents often message us saying the artwork has helped their kids (and them!) get through their hospital stays. Knowing our work can brighten someone’s day during a tough time means a lot. Rumour has it more walls are coming…

When did you decide to create your third book, “The Big Aussie Animal Bush Bash?”

The Bush Bash kind of grew into this beast of a book. It started as a simple concept to showcase different animal collectives. Then I thought, what if each group arrives at a festival? Then, of course, a festival needs stages… and bands… inspired by real artists. Suddenly we had acts like Plume, Wombat Surfshirt, Flipper, and Dope Pademelon & Julia Stone-Curlew (shout-out to our locals!). It took on a whole life of its own and became one of my biggest, most intense book projects to date.

You’re widely known now, lots of great projects and collaborations happening, but what remains the most enjoyable part of the process?

The past few years, my creative practice has felt like a big experiment and an exercise in seeing if Tash and I can carve out a full-time business and living doing it. After launching another big summer merch collection, art collection and books, we finally feel like we have something pretty solid that we can keep nurturing and growing, whilst also doing our best to give back to our community. So yeah, being able to make a living doing what you love, and have people genuinely appreciate it, is super fulfilling.