Steve Tandy's unique and colourful paintings combine the charming personalities of his wildlife subjects with settings inspired by 50s and 60s pop culture, giving the animals a humorous, almost human-like quality: “I believe Art should either make you think or make you smile, I’d like to think my work does both.”
Inspired by icons like Marilyn Monroe, David Hockney and Andy Warhol, Tandy often references movie scenes and paintings of the time period, putting animals- often penguins, pandas and polar bears- in the spaces usually filled by human subjects.
His unique concepts have gained him rising popularity in the UK and around the world. He describes his own work as “realism and surrealism with pop art influences”, and in his more serious moments he includes subtle hints about caring for the planet, referencing deforestation, climate change and changing wildlife habitats.
