About Me

I create art to make you smile and have a moment of happiness, to cultivate joy. You want to be content, less stressed and calmer? Turn off the negative spin, step off the hamster wheel, take a break from the daily busyness and pause... be in the moment... enjoy your Giraffes and Robots pop art. 

Add some sunshine and joy to your decor!

Since I was little I wanted to be an astronaut. This plan lasted
throughout university and beyond . While at university, (I have a Biology degree from Brown University) I had a lot of friends from RISD, an art school nearby. I would study my neuroscience textbooks while they painted, sculpted, printed, etc. I loved the science I was learning but I was also in awe of their completely different university experience. I was spending all my time in labs, they were spending all their time in studios. That artistic lifestyle was so foreign to me and also extremely interesting. Like a studio, a lab can be a very creative and fun place to be, but there is something about the spontaneous creativity of a studio that stayed with me.

My plan to become an astronaut was still first priority throughout my studies. I enjoyed being a tourist at my friends’ art studios, but my place was in the lab. I found (and still find) neuroscience fascinating and just as interesting and amazing as space is, so many things to discover. My passion for science continued to be my main focus, I love the feeling of discovering the unknown. Space, the brain, how organisms work. Science is one unchartered territory after another and I really enjoy the process of discovery.

Then one summer during my studies, I took a trip to Japan. It was during that trip to Japan that I realized what exciting and wonderful worlds I had to discover outside of labs. As soon as I graduated, instead of applying to NASA, or spending my time in a neuroscience lab, I decided I wanted to travel the world instead. My home has been in many countries across the globe ever since.

While living in Barcelona, I fell in love with the way the city lives and breathes art. I was reminded of my artist friends and their lifestyles and had a chance to revisit that world. But this time I wasn’t content with just being a tourist in that world. So, one day I spontaneously went into a little corner art store and bought a blank canvas, some paintbrushes and an acrylic starter set. I went back to my apartment to see what being an artist felt like. I loved it. I painted constantly and became fast friends with the woman at the corner art store. I was addicted and she supplied me with all the necessary tools and advise that a novice like me needed to express my newfound creative drive in this new world. Sometimes, I would be so into a painting that the sun would come up and I would realize I forgot to sleep. I was able to finally explore that studio/art world that I had been captivated by years earlier but had thought was unattainable.

After two years spent painting daily in Barcelona, I became an artist. And I have been painting giraffes and robots ever since. I still consider myself a scientist too. Art and Science are both parts of who I am and I think that my science background positively influences my artwork. Many express surprise at the switch from science to art, but I believe that art and science complement each other beautifully. My studio is full of tins, jars, souvenirs, boxes, toys, papers, postcards, illustrations, books, photos and many other items I’ve collected during my travels. All are sources of inspiration for my work. I am sort of an astronaut after all because I discover, create and explore new worlds everyday.

I draw on paper or canvas and sometimes use my computer to combine my paintings, drawings and photography. I have also created logos and freelance illustrations for various companies and publications in Europe and the US.

Five years ago, I decided that I wanted to create a pop art studio of my own where people could not only buy my work, but also feel that they were entering one of my bright and happy illustrations. I feel that the media nowadays focuses too much on sadness and misery and my art is my small contribution towards promoting a calmer, more positive outlook instead. When people come into my studio they automatically smile and a smile can go a long way to making a difference. I realize how powerful art can be in eliciting emotions and therefore my artistic philosophy is to make art that makes you smile. I make art to give you a moment of joy. 

                                   POP ART IS GOOD FOR YOU. 

For wholesale inquiries and commissions: ash@giraffesandrobots.com