Last year we welcomed competition winner Phill Taffs to Wraptious. We love Phill’s work - his beautifully layered forest scenes are created using a mixture of traditional painting methods, photography and digital art. He lives in Chester with his wife and two children, and has been drawing since he was old enough to hold a paintbrush.

Phill’s unique style first emerged from a period of illness. After a head injury, Phill was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome which then developed into a Chronic Migraine condition. It meant a year of recovery and taking things slowly;

They had advised I go for walks during the recovery period, so I eventually started using my camera more and that lead to me using my mac and playing around with a few things. But I was very limited as to what I could do as concentrating would simply lead to migraines.

One day after playing with the kids with some paint I really liked some of the markings and textures we’d all created, so I photographed them and started playing around in Photoshop. That’s when I first started developing the style you now have.

Although creating artwork has been a constant throughout Phill's life, it's only recently that he has been able to step into it again as a career.

I was still doing arty things during the period but it was mostly stuff for family and friends with the constant thought of ‘I should really get back into it,’ but never quite finding the time. Until now...

Phill's background as a graphic designer, and interest in motion graphics means his work has been inspired by an eclectic mix of artists, from Kyle Cooper to Damien Hirst;

By far the coolest thing I wanted to see recently which I really wished was my own work was Damien Hirst's ‘Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable’.

He has some advice for fellow artists:

Always experiment, even if you know full well you will never use this work it can still inspire you to other ideas. Listen to people you trust but go with your gut feeling …and never paint on expensive furniture."

We couldn't be happier to have Phill join our team, and we are excited to present his new range of giftware to our customers. You can find Phill’s work on our canvases, prints, cushions and cards on his Wraptious page