George Ioannou

George Ioannou was born in Croydon, South London in 1974. His early inspiration came from the comic book heroes of the 60's and 70's and, having gained his art A-level, his early ambition was to be a cartoonist. For a time though he found himself working in  an estate agency, though he never lost his passion for art and was always more drawn to the interior aesthetic rather than the bricks and mortar of the properties he worked with.
George began to study TV and film which brought him back to the screen icons who had influenced his life such as Al Pacino, whose craft he admired. He even took on acting roles in Die Another Day and The Bill. For his first series of icon images, George has painted, by choice, from the films and stars that inspired him the most. He works in acrylic on canvas, taking many hours to select and draw the initial image by hand, determining the balance of form and shading needed to capture the mood of the piece. He then chooses and mixes his colours to further enhance the vibrancy and emotion of the image before finally applying paint to canvas. While George's work may be referenced to that of the great 1960's Andy Warhol and the whole Pop-Art genre, he reintroduces us to this style in a new Millennium with his own unique pallette