James O'Hanlon
CREATIVE PRACTICE
artist, illustrator, workshop facilitator and commissions
ARTIST STATEMENT
I laugh at my own jokes. Sometimes I tell them to other people, more often I make them into art. Having spent years working as a scientist, quantifying the world through an objective lens, I relish in exploring the fantastical through a subjective (mostly silly) lens. I create illustrations, paintings, murals and the odd sculpture here and there.
I enjoy creating expressive characters placed in absurd circumstances to explore ideas about how we perceive our own life experiences. I celebrate underdogs, problems solvers, ugly ducklings, fish out of water, and the just plain unlucky. I use a range of mediums including acrylics, watercolours, ink, and digital art to tell stories, and hopefully make people smile and quietly guffaw.
BIO
James O’Hanlon is an emerging artist and story teller from Armidale, New South Wales. He holds a PhD in Biology from Macquarie University and has a background in researching animal behaviour and ecology. He has won awards for public outreach and university teaching and is the director of the not-for-profit science education organisation In Situ Science.
Having recently moved from a career in science to focussing on his art, James draws from his background to create art that explores themes of nature, exploration, and discovery. His minimalist comic style is used to create expressive characters that hold a humorous lens to the world around us.
He has been commissioned to produce concept art for the UNE Boilerhouse Discovery Space, interior mural designs for the Armidale War Memorial Library, and illustrations for an upcoming children’s book ‘Tilly the Tardigrade’. He has delivered workshops to primary schools, high schools, university students and has developed and delivered numerous public and community events.
James is available for illustration and art commissions, school workshops, and events.
CONTACT
james.c.ohanlon@gmail.com
0400 562 050