Hailing originally from Springfield, Oregon, USA, the home of “The Simpsons”, Jeff moved to Melbourne in the mid-90s. A rave DJ for many years, and not one for colouring inside the lines, Jeff did not venture into art until much much, much later in his life.
Jeff’s approach to art is a blend of Modern Naïve with a nod to Pop Representational focusing on form, colour and lines with minimal concern for depth and proportion. His playful approach to “art for the fun of it” has allowed Jeff to create works across various mediums from acrylic, oil and watercolour paints, stencil, and paste up, to block printing and portraits in glitter.
Jeff has had works displayed in the Linden Gallery annual Post Card Show since 2018, the Contemporary Art Society of Victoria A4 art show, Brunswick Street Gallery’s “50 Squared” exhibition, and was selected as a finalist for the Moonee Valley Art Show and the “Likeness” exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery.
Jeff believes that “as living beings, we have a core desire to create. Some of us are human copy machines and have the ability to duplicate items in a perfect manner, and then there are those of us who find beauty and a sense of peace in a flexible process of creation.”
When not learning new things, he is adding to a series, ‘Tiny Muses – Inspired by hummingbirds’, that features over 360 A4 watercolour paintings, or developing other works of art for local exhibitions.
Feel free to follow Jeff on Instagram (@reffreywillis) to see his latest works, and to be the first to know when and where he’s exhibiting.
