Fashionably Late  1988-2000

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary" - Pablo Picasso

Carl's early work between 1988-2000 reflect the sub-cultural communities in urban Australia.  The autobiographical works focus on  his personal experiences. These include early stints in the fashion and arts industries, academia and then editing. These themes were mainly sensual, colourful observations of a society - if not exactly in decline - then happily oblivious to the world. He held his first and second solo exhibitions at Bridge Gallery - Solo and Dualities -  in Western Australia and then had a long gestation period in which he developed his ideas and techniques with paint. (Galleries 1991, 1992).

War 2001-2011 

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be a little more gentle with each other, and a little more loving, have a little more empathy, and maybe,
we'd like each other a little bit more." -  Judy Garland

After 2001 his work re-oriented toward understanding our radically altered consciousness under both technological change and the so called 'War on Terror'.   Spiritual questions then led him to examine the moral and legal aspects of killing in combat and how today’s political narratives mirror the mythological archetypes of our past.  In 2006 he began integrating digital processes, photo & hand stencils, screen printing and aerosol spray into his more traditional painting technique - most notably in 2006's Sedition and Other Bedtime Stories. He has also been inspired by street art, old subway film posters and 60s airport paperback covers.  Visually, he was compelled to look at the subtle ways in which art, (and artists) and creativity in all forms, was recruited to support this conflict.

 In 2011 Carl completed a body of paintings called The Assassination of Judy Garland - a Metaphorical Portrait of America - Part 1 (2008-11). It is a visual Chansons de Geste * about prophecy, politics and modern war.  These paintings delve into contemporary political myth-making using both Chansons de Geste and the Hollywood musical.  He uses the literary imagination as a way to explore the multiple worlds and realities that we choose to blueprint our futures by embedding them into our popular culture.  Our stories create our sense of time, place and the way we decide our fate.  Like most, the Left/Right divides left Carl seeking more substance.  He does not call himself an activist, rather he supports the idea of active citizenship by all.  In this vein, his paintings investigate the artistic dimension of our political consciousness. An exhibition date is yet to be set.  (Galleries 2001, 2006, 2008,  2009, 2011).

Catechisms 2011

"God does not play dice" - Albert Einstein

Late in 2011 Carl began The Resurrection of the Tin Man - Part 2 (2011).  With the previous paintings used as a 'gateway' for an imaginative-process he calls 'prophetic surrealism', Tin Man explores a fictional genetically engineered life-form and the role of the messiah across several paintings.

Feeling very inspired by this new phase, Carl has embraced different metaphors, music and collaboration with people who embody particular qualities he admires, and who have lent their identities as characters on his canvas.  In a sense, these paintings attempt an imaginary catechism that explores a trans-humanist spirituality  (read the Science Tags)