Tom Bell is a Poneke-based artist and designer, and also a member of the GAG crew! Tom and his mates are opening a group exhibition on April 30th at Thistle Hall, so we fired him some questions about his work and other good stuff.

NO RHYME
NO REASON

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Your group exhibition ‘No Rhyme No Reason’ opens on Tuesday April 30th at Thistle Hall. Can you tell us about the title of the exhibition and what we can expect? 


 'No Rhyme No Reason' is a collaborative show by a trio of friends with a shared passion for painting, who wanted an excuse to do a show together. We had no real "reason" to do a show - but then we realised that we didn't really need one. Our friendship and shared love of the craft was enough. Expect to see artworks created from our combined influences - traditional Japanese tattooing and painting, along with a healthy dose of cartoon nostalgia and mixed media.

What is the inspiration or backstory behind your range of works being presented next week?

My work is influenced by Irezumi (Japanese Tattoo) - using traditional motifs such as hannya's and dragons to create large, woodcut pieces which I then paint by hand.

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You've also previously created artwork for t-shirts, brand signage, and even the side of Garage Project's beer cans. How have your painting techniques evolved as you've created work for different mediums?

Creating digital artworks for brands such as Garage Project challenges me to really focus on the details of an image - and this is something I have been focussing on transferring to my handpainted work. Detail work is much easier when there is an undo button, but unfortunately "Cmd Z '' doesn't exist for handpainting. This latest body of work is my most detailed yet - hours have been spent painting hundreds of tiny scales and creating colour gradients by hand.

On a side note, we know that you’re into sneakers - what releases are you waiting for at the moment?

I've been leaning into an earthy tone colour palette with my work recently - and this has extended to my footwear. I'm looking out for the "True Camo" 990v6 from New Balance releasing on May 2nd.

How can people keep an eye on what you're working on, or hit you up for a commission if they like what they see?

People can get in touch with me through IG @tombellgraphics or my website tombellgraphics.com

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