King Toe Junior

I am a multi-disciplinary artist based in Barnstaple specialising in acrylic painting and music production. Inspired partly by primitive, ancient painting from around the world and prominent artists of the 20th Century including Jean Dubuffet, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Keith Haring. I am very much attracted to imperfection and the philosophy of wabi-sabi.

For several years I grappled with the need to develop a painting style unique to me that fused these inspirations. I experimented with texture and composition relentlessly, incorporating different mediums but often returning to minimalism. I work similarly with the music I produce; building up layers and then stripping back and removing things until I'm left with the bare bones.

With regards to my painting this was all part of an ongoing process - my current work is busier and more abstract than it once was. I use psychic automatism to draw onto wooden panels, it's a quick and expressive approach which encourages subconscious mark-making. I then mix and apply the paint (the way I mix all my colours is a closely guarded secret but it's a technique I find helps bring all the elements together in a way that makes visual sense).

A running theme throughout a lot of my work is the juxtaposition of industry and nature that we all find ourselves in. The way artificial structures and technology interact with (or obstruct) the natural world.