Simon Welsh
Sydney collage artist Simon Welsh (aka Hipsterdirtbag) is a long term Librarian and a short term artist “Embracing the bearded lifestyle queer aesthetic’’.
“I have been making prints, wall art and design for over five years and have recently started to experiment with collage and paper art and mixing the two mediums together. Mainly selling works online, I am beginning to use social media to network and trying to make a name for myself. My work is colourful and embraces the queer, tongue in cheek, the slightly absurd with a touch of hipster.
I fell in love with collage two years ago and have dedicated all my efforts in the subject. I currently teach collage workshops and use all my available time to practise collage. The process began by sitting on my bedroom floor and cutting out images –rearranging and practising, learning and applying myself. Gaining confidence, I began to enter art prizes, and here I am in a book!”
Simon prefers using traditional techniques, combining original paper pieces to make organic creations that take form naturally on a cutting board. He studied graphic design at Martin College, and sometimes uses his graphics skills to sharpen images.
He began entering prizes in 2019 and received early success as a finalist in the Agendo, Hawkesbury and The Fisher’s Ghost.
Simon finds inspiration in queer, quirky, gothic beauty - particularly the human body and the soul within it. He explains, “I feel my work is a fusion of life, love death and hate. A lot of my work is inspired by my own thoughts and feelings. I aim to get a response from the viewer, whether it be beauty or grunge. I like to add elements of my life, my thoughts & feelings – as an artist these elements give me power to show my creativity and push me to keep learning who I am. xo”