Untitled Mural II, 2019

Luke Gray (UK) is a nomadic surrealist painter specializing in large scale paintings on walls and canvas. Being colour blind he was forced to use an almost exclusively black and white palette, working with patterns and textures rather than colour. He draws largely from traditional Asian decorative art styles as well as European styles such as Art Nouveau , Symbolism and Surrealism.

In 2013 he started an 8 year journey of hitchhiking around the world painting murals for hotels, bars and schools to support himself on the road; collecting influences and techniques as he traveled. After visiting over 50 countries he became inspired by a wide range of multicultural art styles and traditional mediums combining and integrating techniques and patterns from different cultures and religions into his work. He also gained a love of ethnology, so when travelling he often visits indigenous tribes and spends time to live with them and learn from them. He takes meticulous notes on their textile patterns, tattoo markings and sacred symbols and tries to infuse this cultural ephemera into his work.

He has painted for a range of clients in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Luke has gone on to paint and design for some notable clients and institutions including: Google:London, Facebook, Oxford University, Kings College, Peroni & Jealous Gallery. His work can be seen decorating, hotels, restaurants, offices and schools around the world .