About
Thanks for swinging by - feet up, grab a brew and get yourself comfy as this section unravels the last 15 largely blessed, yet challenging, years of my dream that became a reality that is Dollarsandart.
Not my hands, fingers or scissors but you get the idea
It puts things into context especially if you're thinking of working with me, investing in Art or just plain curious - all are good and I'm grateful for your time whilst you've a gazillion and 1 other things you could be doing.
Pull up a...ah well, best not I've already painted a dollarshot on it.....
A bit lost in 2011 but leaning into Art did wonders for my sense of purpose
I founded dollarsandart in 2011 initially as an outlet for expression during a rather testing and challenging time - my own story if you will. It's evolved somewhat and I'm very grateful for the collaborations and commissions. I've been fortunate enough to deliver commissions, workshops and team building events with my Engage : Create : Facilitate model....
Keep chipping away at your dreams as they take shape
They've become my lifeblood, if you will, my reason to be whilst thankfully continuing to develop my own practice through my own body of work with my relentless and often obsessive 'one collection per year' goal as I approach the 17th dollarsandart collection 'Waxing lyrical' with vigour....
Doesn't it just!?
The ENGAGE bit is the key starting point, the most rewarding have been when the client leans into the project and takes ownership with me rather that 'You're the Artist'! There's a degree of creative licence of course. The Hurst Knoll 50th anniversary piece, photographed below, with the Headmaster mid commission, right slap bang in the middle of the pandemic, yes, masks off in the Art portacabin...
Engaging with all walks of life is really rewarding such as larger than life characters like Frankie Dettori in the 200 strong Disruptives collection....
or a company looking to bring their part of their lifestyle brand essence to life, such as The Els Golf Club, Dubai for a Health is Wealth 'Brandscape'...
In each case the client is very much engaged and involved in the creative process & I learn something from all of them so it's thankfully now a platform to encourage others to create, share and tell their story.
Back story - The 'ME' bit : Gorilla / Guerilla!
Originally from the North West of England I studied Civil Engineering at Nottingham University, then my Masters in California before returning to the UK for a career in Sales and Marketing. I moved to Dubai in 2002 where I was fortunate to experience 'both sides of the surreal coin' through commercial roles in both Construction and Golf.
Keeping Sharpe with Lee : Manchester golf day nearest the pin sponsorship early days
During a challenging time almost a decade ago, Art became my reason to be, a lifeline and a critical outlet to express my feelings as an essential vehicle for my self-worth. My heartfelt desire to express myself during the journey through creative expression led to launching dollarsandart, largely to help keep things in perspective during disruptive times.
As I was lost and as a cry for help, I dug deeper exploring money, people and creativity further I began to express myself, experiences, struggles and successes through Art.
The universal symbol of the $ seemed to impact and influence so many decisions, providing the motivation for and the limitation of many of our decisions in life. I decided that the dollar for all its pro's and con's along with grains of sand in nature and in industry would be a central feature of my work as Dollarsandart was born.
I felt I was onto something whilst becoming disillusioned with the superficiality of a material existence. There seemed to be an unwritten life rule that money is integral to happiness and happiness is a natural by product of money so I explored this further, chipping away, bit by bit by egotistical bit.
With 16 collections, 15 years on with the relentless quest to get my work liked and accepted, trying to explore both sides of the coin as the sands of time shifted I started to explore my own initial premise of combining singed bank notes, sand and mixed media further....
Dollars and Art / Dollar sand art philosophy
Dollar : Money, energy and exchange.
Sand : Each grain looks the same from afar but really close, totally different.
Art : Making money from what you enjoy doing as the real, authentic you!
Back story - The 'WE' bit
I realised there were other pockets of society where my energy was far better served during the summer of 2019 during a Community, Identity and Value workshop at HMP Berwyn, Wrexham and Coleg Cambria, North Wales launching The Best of British Collection with the Life Skills students.
Moving from 'ME' to 'WE', whilst still delivering commissions and preparing for the 17th collection I now enjoy sharing what I've learnt encouraging others to realise the power of creativity holding improved performance training workshops with groups....
In forms of recognition for top performing team members in various roles such as the affiliates down at The Track, Meydan Golf.....
...to Corporate and brand identity with team building along the way in a dragons den style fun filled workshop that continues to be my lifeblood to this day!
and communities at large with a little help from my friends...
With their unique form of expression that brilliantly captures in one image the dollarsandart journey so far at The Best of British kicks in......
Harnessing Art for mindfulness, productivity, playfulness and the support of mental health, rehabilitation, engagement and well-being is very much the focus alongside commissions, collaborations and workshops.
With Art you just have to start. I know first-hand that creativity isn't about being an artist. Before I discovered art, I was a Civil Engineer — one selling solutions, some involving sand for mega projects to Engineers on the mega projects in Dubai during the boom, boom — Sheikh the room.
Growth in the form of Bamboo — this simple thing gave me hope at the time, circa 2011
This vid says it all, taken slap bang in the middle of my first 28-day solo exhibition back in 2013 — I was exhausted as my energy and enthusiasm got the better of me.....
Exhausted mid way through my Dubai Dollar project exhibition (2013)
It was a cry for help but one that was thankfully heard as The Money Collection, largely collage-based outbursts all centred around the $ sign, was formed then performed: a painting became a title, the title became several that formed the collection, then came the exhibition...
I then outgrew my Art saturated studio appartment on Shk Zayed Road heading to keeping it real Al Quoz for a couple of years whilst studio work thankfully continued but split between the UK & the UAE...
Early Al Quoz dollarshots : Spot the Atari 2600 Artwork if you know, you know!
I hadn't realised it at the time but what I went through was an early introduction into a form of therapy — self-imposed Art for healing, a form of therapy if you will — it did wonders for me — something I could not only experiment with but control! It was cathartic, it was getting stuff off my chest — it was, and still is, Art for Wellbeing.
So warts & all, I shared my story and then some — then over time other peoples', some instantly recognisable, others less so, but both played their part in my quest to be 'accepted' by the Art world, whoever that is!
Letting go of that need for Art world acceptance — some 6 years later into the self-serving, egotistical, 'Look who I've got to sign a couple of $ bills' journey of Art...
Whilst still giving a nod to some of the unsung foot soldiers of society, exploring both sides of the coin, if you will...
It was this dichotomy of exploring both sides of the coin that triggered The Warholesque Disruptives collection in the Autumn of 2016 going live in 2017 and still going strong to this day...
DIFC currency house at a bar that was known as Rogue Trader : Gatsby Dubai!
As time rolled on I was drawn towards shifting from ME to WE — from sponsoring golf days and sporting events to rolling my sleeves up for some cracking and authentic charitable causes. My first purely altruistic (no such thing given I'm typing it here) community engagement programme at H.M.P Berwyn, Wrexham, where I realised the value of self-worth applies to others as well as myself. The Dance of Life collection was born (2019) — a pivotal epiphany from 'ME'.....
Over time, I discovered that making art gave me something incredibly valuable: a space to think, to focus, to express myself and, importantly, to feel that I was creating something of my own. That experience ultimately led to the creation of Dollarsandart — my 'ME'. Today, I'm continuing to practise but am equally passionate about helping others discover what creativity might offer them too.
The 'WE'.....
Creating - Opportunities for people and brands
Once initial and often enthusiastic engagement is made I really enjoy amplifying a brands message with something a little different...
Aston Martin Wilmslow DB 11 launch, Wilmslow, Cheshire
A car launch is one thing but as well as honouring the DB11 in The Disruptives collection I insisted on working live on a piece I was working on that involved the 2nd signed £ bill from none other than Donald Trump who I'd tracked down as part of my Heroes & Villains collection (2015)
As 'Twitter Trump' was in full effect during the car launch I was tinkering with lego and paint, popping a lego trump under the America flag and his dropped MAGA hat! Given this was in 2019 and what happened years later is well, let's call it serendipity...
The dots connected with this piece - full story here
Facilitating - Motivational Workshops for people and society
HMP Berwyn Community, Identity and Values
This was the big ME to WE turning point that stays with me to this day - given the Art workshops that created The Dance of Life collection with both residents and inmates working together. Over a soul-searching period the group formed, normed, stormed and performed openly sharing values, thoughts, aspirations whilst all boldly sharing life's learnings to date....
We initially enjoyed a few ice-breakers, I was invited to share a few celeb $ signing stories and then moved onto defining what Community, Identity and values meant to us all and how it plays such a key part in life. It wasn't until week 5 when brushes touched the canvas, spring-boarding off the strong sense of identity and ideas we all had of how to express what it meant to us did the 'Dance of Life' (2019) collection come to life....
This is the result as the dots were connected and it all came together when the time was right! Such rich learning for all involved and most importantly helped people on the way to becoming rehabilitated which is the ultimate aim of HMP Berwyn.
Here's part 1 : Running through the rationale behind the participants paintings 1 - 4
Sharing stories along the way we all leaned in together and created this 9 strong collection (Plus 'Hair today, gone tomorrow' but that's another story) was the creative output of a series of eight workshops held at HMP Berwyn, Wrexham between July and October 2019.
Here's part 2 : Running through the rationale behind the participants paintings 5 - 9
Each painting tells a story from staff and residents alike and as a collective from start to finish as the dance goes on and the result of several weeks of heart felt discussion, soul searching and team work in full effect. Given the Covid pandemic landed the project was then 'postponed' - indefinitely just as the pilot scheme was approved but, as they say, that's life!
Mindfulness in 2020 with Jigsaws
'Your works not cheap but I do love a Jigsaw' came a comment on insta during the first lockdown in 2020 as The GAMES2020 collection was taking shape - my lighthearted and cheeky nod to the pandemic whilst twisting (like we did last summer) a play on words to 20 board games I loved as a kid.
So thanks to these jigsaws the dollarsandart was made more accessible.....
Step by step, piece by piece (Wrexham, North Wales 2020)
It's in the air - The Fragrance collection (2021)
Ambition is not to be sniffed out so then came the real oud based dollarsandart Fragrance 2021 as thrive not just survive kicked in again during lockdown...
That's another story that will be dripped in as time marches on...
The dance goes on - Get your Gorilla on!
The Crypto Rollercoaster (2022)
The whole Crypto world was honoured Tokenomics (13th collection 2022) - those in the blockchain that captured those big UPS & downs, rugpulls, f'lying carpets and the likes in a rather tongue in cheek way!
Then the planets aligned in March 2022 when an approach from film maker Terry Stone, previous commission on Frank Sinatra - 2015...
Fairplay, it was all thanks to Terry, Dollarsandart was accepted as resident Artist at L'escargot, Soho in the heart of London where 9 dollarshot paintings sit to this day!
Along with the original, Let's be Frank painting....
The Grime Gorillas (2023)
To mint 'Grime Gorillas' on the blockchain, 3D, immortalise, merch and tie into a truly decentralised film (Tales from the trap) backed by Filmcoin...
as the planets align it's all taking shape with The Grime Gorilla$!
With the whole NFT world (insert expletive here) taking a turn for the - well, it imploded!!
Health is Wealth (2024)
My Health took a strange turn with a constant numbness in 3.5 fingers and my thumbs on both hands leading me to Carpel tunnel surgery and my beloved very dominant left hand going under the knife...
Through gritted teeth - 'Well that's my left hand out - now what!?'
This kinda forced my hand (excuse the pun) to create 50% of the collection with my less dominant right hand during the irony of the 2024 Olympics!
With some surprising results as Art began to feel like a form of therapy for me...
Even taking to my old maxed out debit and credit cards that got me through some financially challenging times - all in the name of Art, I guess...
Infinity 88888888 in full effect : 8 maxed out bank cards, 8 coins and infinity 8 signs as I was in a right 808 state!
Call it the X factor, we keep going as the stepping stone journey and a sense of make it up as you go along faith in the process thankfully continued...
Recovery was slow and the Carpel tunnel procedure did nothing to change my condition (limited edition - freestyle rap oppo here) so I haven't repeated the procedure with my right hand. Both hands have the same numbness, maybe arthritis, maybe compressed ulnar nerve, life goes on - with Naproxen and ami-trip-whatever it's called...!
2025 Snakes & Adders Collection
As my eighth year as resident Artist aboard the QE2 came around I was fortunate enough to stay aboard (not gifted - mates rates by the way) and created The Snakes & Adders given it was the Year of the Woodsnake and all....
All aboard - loving the 20,000 step days with a couple of VIP and family groups
Works in progress shot for the 16th collection Snakes & Adders :
Jan 2025 completed and curated aboard The Qe2, Dubai
With the Seven Stars Legal piece : Seven Stars aligned
It was in 2025 I was invited to explore 'ME' to 'WE' even further supporting the military Veteran Community and get involved in exploring Art for Wellbeing as technical advisor in the Art for their recovery programme - underpinned by The Hero's Journey and by Self-Determination Theory.
2026 Waxing Lyrical
Currently working under the bonnet with the 2026 collection - 'Waxing Lyrical' as vinyl records become the canvas....
Along with my largest canvas yet - the old Bell tent - I blame the flies....
The joys of discovering soft top fabric paint for cars works on tents also!
As long as the main man is happy - Bulldog Bob!
We keep going - just like the 14th season of our Free to enter Fantasy Football league - joining the league couldn't be easier. Simply use the link below and you'll be added automatically after you've entered the game.
https://fantasy.premierleague.com/leagues/auto-join/s105zf
Innit to winnit, innit! Good luck....
David Moyes honoured in The Disruptives Collection September 2025
Thanks for swinging by - even if you just scrolled down to this bit!
