“Hepburn gag”

This artwork is one of my photo realistic drawings done in black and red ballpoint pens (BIC Biros).
The top image shows three photos of me creating it.

I’ve had a lot of mixed reactions to this artwork. It’s a departure from the kind of drawings I’ve done before of Audrey Hepburn so it did divide opinion, but a bit of controversy is always good in art.

Obviously, in the original photo of Audrey Hepburn the artwork is based off she wasn’t wearing the ball gag. A few years ago I came across a Tumblr image where someone had Photoshopped in the ball gag. I drew this artwork from that small online image (the Photoshopper is Ray Dario & he did it for fun back in 2011. he can be found on Devient art here).

The drawing took just over three weeks to complete at a size of 50x40cm in July 2013.
It was a commission so the original is unavailable.
Soon after, I released a limited edition of 80 Giclee prints of the artwork at a larger size of 80x60cm, which have now sold out but there are a few numbered AP prints left, which you can still order online here.

(UPDATE; July, 2015) I was asked by a London nightclub group to come up with 2 large artworks for a warehouse party so I did an XL print on canvas of the drawing (150x110cm, AP 1/2), had it framed with another artwork (see below) and put them up for the party. There was a great response to it, so afterwards I hand finished it with pink Krink ink (the heart) and put it into a summer group show in Notting Hill. Then…

it was shipped off to the Spanish, party island, of Ibiza for a massive yearly event called Urban In Ibiza organized by Paul Dizzi Saunders from Notting Hill gallery Westbank Gallery. You can see it below exhibited alongside Banksy (from right), RYCA, Snik, & Elmo Hood. It sold there but…

the story doesn’t end there.
The artwork has now gone onto a range designer clothes by a new fashion label called Tailored Anarchy. This is great timing as there has been a bit of demand for T-shirts with the artwork on (see comments below). The designers have first made a sweatshirt/jumper with it on which launched on the catwalk at the Urban In Ibiza event mentioned above.

I had a clothes and accessories store for a while selling T-shirts of the artwork, but I shut it down as it wasn’t really worth my time to operate.

Instead recently (April/2018) i partnered with one of the world leaders in lightboxes to create a polaroid format high specification LED lightbox artwork as the final rendition of “Hepburn Gag”, (more information here) the video (see below) also shows the journey the drawing took to this form as outlined above.

Subverting images of vintage celebrities & ideas of classical beauty has become a bit of thing with my work at the moment.

Subverting classic ideas of beauty, not to disrespect them, but to explore how the subversion of those ideas are actually beautiful in their own right, whilst throwing in an edge, cheekiness & fun for good measure.

Below are two other drawings of mine I’ve created recently, “Audrey Swears” & “Monroe Gag”, (click images more more) that fit into the same style / category as “Hepburn Gag”.