I am the very definition of multicultural. I was very fortunate to have been born in London to a British mother and a Sri Lankan father. I have lived in London, Sri Lanka. Gibraltar, Vancouver and California, but the majority of my formative and destructive years were spent in the culturally diverse and exciting city of Montreal. This city shaped who I am today. Montreal was a gritty place in the 70’s, 80’s and the early 90’s. A good friend, Basil Papademos wrote a fabulous book about the city during that time called ‘Mount Royal’.

I was in a couple of punk bands in the 80’s and navigated through all the obvious trappings and came out relatively unscathed.

My color palette comes from the influence of punk rock and the punk scene. My passion for bright, strong and bold colours has been evident even in my early pieces. When I lived in Sri Lanka, I marveled at the market stalls selling all the wonderful silk saris and all the different spices, fruits and vegetables in colours and shapes my western eyes had not seen before. The aroma is still with me to this day.

 I have worked in many different fields over the years, but one of the most important to my art was the skill of plastering and cement repair and finishing. This gave me the ability to work with trowels and palette knives, comfortably applying depth and texture to my art.