The works of Andrew Livingston and George Morris
About the artists
Humour is very important in our work and we both share a similar sense of humour which makes working jointly quite an easy thing to do. Our style and colour palettes are quite similar but we do bring different things to each piece of work.
Sometimes the work is inspired by music, as in the case of the Zappa paintings, or ideas can be sparked by something in the news or events in history that seem particularly relevant to today. The work is often quite surreal and bizarre but most of all, we hope, humorous.
We have been working together since 2001 and our way of working has developed over that time. At first we worked on themes for a painting series, discussing ideas and sketches but working independently on the actual paintings. Our first collaboration making a piece together was Couch Potatoes in 2003. It was not until mid 2004, however, when we started working on The Collectors series that we began working jointly on paintings.
We begin by discussing ideas for a new series and then work independently on drawings and then come together to discuss which of these might become paintings. We each then start a different work, sketching the composition in and may even swap these between us until we feel they are right and then begin painting. We usually work on 3 or 4 paintings at one time and these will pass between us until we feel they are finished.
The paintings develop organically. We rarely discuss who is going to paint which part of the painting initially. Sometimes the paintings change as they progress, things may be deleted or other elements added. Sometimes we paint alongside each other in one or the other’s studio but also separately.
Whilst we have different painting styles, our colours are very complimentary and most people find it impossible to tell who has painted what. Above all, we have a very similar sense of humour and perhaps this is why it works.
