about the electric artist
The Electric Artist’s real name is Gary Crilley.
There. It’s out… my secret identity.
I’m somewhere between 25 and 75 (kinda like half way) and I live for painting on a computer screen with a mouse. It's sorta become something of a symbol for me - the mouse painting.
I've been creating computer graphics, graphic design, illustration and art since the 1980s and for the last eight years have been passing that knowledge on to a whole new generation of artists, designers, photographers and conceptualists. Being self-taught (as everybody was back in those early days) I have a pretty good grasp on what it is that rocks the boats of those new to vector and pixel art. It's therefore my hope that my insights can ease the learning curve of budding artists and designers everywhere, both young and old.
I have written several books, created a complete learning course, and presenty run a number of sites offering advice, tips, video tutorials, books and other information for graphic designers, desktop publishers, web designers and anyone with an interest in creating art using a computer.
As well as my career in graphic design and illustration, I have worked as a production manager for several newspapers, prepress manager right at the sharp end, and as a full time graphic design tutor. I have taught Photoshop to professional designers, and over the years have also taught Pagemaker, Freehand, Illustrator, Acrobat and Indesign to all levels of users, from newbies to experts.
I currently live in New Zealand with my wife and two remaining sons (my eldest having already left the nest) and work every day in the fascinating field of graphic and web design.
If you want to contact me, do so at;
What used to be a trickle of emails has of late become quite a torrent, so I can't guarantee to get back to you immediately. I will, however, promise to get back to you as soon as I can.