What’s your favourite beach and why?
Curl Curl, in part due to my living there, but more importantly due to the people you get to meet there, particularly the early morning swimmers’ coffee crew.
Where’s your favourite place to eat, drink, hang out?
There are so many great places, but my main ports of call are Three Seagulls (Harbord Road), Market Lane Cafe (Manly), Gusto on the Beach (South Curly), and Stowaway Bar (Freshwater).
Describe one of your fondest memories of life on the beaches.
Christmas Day morning; champagne, mangoes and coffee with family and friends.
If you had to live anywhere else in the world, where would that second-best place to live be?
Probably Queenstown, NZ. Further from the beach, but closer to the All Blacks!
What inspired your cover artwork?
My cover artwork is a reminder of some of the lifestyle opportunities the Northern Beaches provides, whilst ensuring that fun and humour should always be part of these activities.
What inspires your artwork in general?
I have certainly taken some inspiration from ‘Pop Art’ with my use of bold flat colours.
I always have music playing when I am working which can often stimulate a thought for future works. Humour can also be a strong influence, particularly when I play with words and puns in my cartoon work.
How would you describe your art?
Quirky, colourful, and fun.
What is your favourite part of the artistic process?
The response of others to my finished work is what I enjoy most.
Which artists, or other inspiring people, would you most like to have dinner with and why?
(Dead or alive) I would love to have met one of the ‘Pop Art’ greats such as Warhol or Lichtenstein. Keith Haring and Patrick Caulfield would also be on my list for their bold outlines and strong use of colour.
How did you discover you had a gift for art?
I remember when I was at school I used to ask friends to scribble a few lines or shapes onto a piece of paper and then I would convert these into a full drawing. Whilst not specifically taking art classes I was always doodling, and my love of cartoons certainly started at an early age through the strip cartoons in the daily newspaper, as well as magazines such as ‘Punch’, and ‘Mad’.
Did you study art?
I studied architecture at university, but even then, I was actively involved in designing posters for the main college gigs and cartoons for the student magazine.
What else are you working on at the moment?
I have a few different projects, including a cartoon submission for ‘Inkspot’ (Australian Cartoonists Association magazine), a piece of art for the Dreams2Live4 charity art exhibition at Diversarty gallery, and after completing some tee shirt art for Market Lane Cafe I am now working on another wall piece for them.
What’s your favourite thing about what you do?
Two favourites; the freedom I have in expressing myself, and the out-of-the-blue coffee shop conversations I have whilst drawing!
*Editor’s note: Chris often does his best work when sitting at cafes. So, keep an eye out for him filling his notebook with cartoon gold next time you’re grabbing a coffee or B&E roll!
How can people buy and support your art?
A selection of original artworks can be found at DiversARTy gallery in Cromer. Some of my cartoons and other design work is available to purchase on a wide range of products through Redbubble, I also have an Instagram account and you can always get in touch if you are after something specific.