Creative Journal

Turning the clock back to 2013 and the Billabong Pro Tahara which at the time was Japan’s largest surf event. It was an intense but rewarding time where I got to design the branding and website, manage the content production, and bring it all together for hundreds of thousands to enjoy.

My plan for a Françoise Nielly-inspired portrait took a wild detour last night. New Procreate oil brushes and a wandering mind led to an unexpected digital piece: a Mandalorian helmet blended onto a surfer. This random fusion or elements might just be my new creative direction…

A look back at the 2013 Billabong Attack, Japan’s biggest snowboard event. From designing an “outer space” brand theme to living in a hut on a freezing mountain, I share the story behind the intense, exhausting, but ultimately rewarding experience of producing this epic event.

Decided to finally try abstract digital art, following a Youtube tutorial but, going a bit rogue with the colours compared to them. The honest truth about the result? NFI. I don’t know what it is, or if I even like it. But, I’ll admit it was fun to create.

Time was definitely not on my side today. I only managed to squeeze in about 20 minutes for a quick creative session. But it’s funny how sometimes, even in those short bursts, you can drop into a bit of a flow state and create.

A case study on the Baxta brand refresh. I share the journey of creating a new brand identity, from the challenge of a colour-coded packaging system to a strategic website pivot from Shopify to WordPress, resulting in a cohesive and well-received brand rollout.

My nightly Procreate session, often only around 30 minutes, has become my essential ‘down time’ and happy place. It’s a precious window of time to disconnect, learn and experiment.

My new paper screen protector for the iPad arrived, and I dove into Procreate to test it out. The result? An admittedly ugly first piece, but a valuable marker in my ongoing digital art journey. Because every imperfect step is part of learning.

My artwork “Time Traveller” merges monks and astronauts, inspired by a fascination with parallel universes and a clairvoyant’s tale of my past lives as a monk. It’s a visual exploration of time, alternate realities, and the intriguing thought of revisiting other existences.

Inspired by the famous duct-taped banana, my latest digital artwork, “Duct Tape Chilli,” puts a fiery spin on the concept thanks to my new chilli obsession and YouTube channel, Forking Hot. It’s a playful experiment in creativity and a little marketing fun.