Under the pseudonym ‘Doug Bartlett’, good mates Nick Morris and Dave Bowers roll up their garage doors and “let rip” on canvas. The results are more jazz fusion than pop art. The works are textured like sand in boots, loud like dogs barking and chaotic like waves breaking.
For Morris and Bowers, Doug Bartlett is an “energy”. They describe a visceral process where no law rules. Each man throws himself against the canvas, feverishly painting and pasting under the rule - either can override the other. The result is dense and incidental - like a cityscape, canvases glean layers of paint and posters.
The work of Doug Bartlett feels like a saunter through the suburbs. Morris and Bowers draw from their surroundings - subcultures, pop culture, Australiana and their rural origins. They create big, mixed media visual feasts. Raw and exciting - Doug Bartlett jams to its own frank and frenzied beat.