Mosaic artist ready for screen debut in TV competition

David O’Brien, from Bickerstaffe, will be seen on BBC’s Home Is Where The Art Is. Hosted by Nick Knowles, the show sees three artists compete to win a special new commission for one paying homeowner.

Other news: Heartwarming first images of Wigan puppy back at home after he was stolen from a carTaking one of the oldest arts forms and putting a unique contemporary twist on each mosaic, David works under the trade name Big and Small Mosaics, and is becoming well known in the art world due to his work.

His success is even more impressive when you consider his lack of professional training and relatively short time in the medium.

He has only been making mosaics for just over two years, never studied art at school and has never trained in tiling.

Yet despite this, his work has become increasingly popular since he decided to make his first mosaic late in 2016.

David said: “I love to make mosaics using pop art, street art and other classic themes, but I use extreme attention to detail in each of my works.

“I also take on bespoke commissions and I have recently been signed to a major art publisher called Buckingham Fine Art who are getting my work seen in art galleries far and wide.”

He added: “I love to make big and small mosaics, and this is a name I often use along with my own name on social media. I chose the name as when I first thought this could become a commercial venture, I wanted to include my daughter Olivia. She is ‘Small’, guess which I am.”

He added: “She is also very creative, so she could see the new business idea hopefully grow and see a less orthodox career path become a possibility, which it is definitely doing now.”

David went on: “My passion for mosaics was founded about 20 years ago at one of the most famous mosaic artists of all, Antoni Gaudi’s Parc Guell in Barcelona.

“But it took a while after this for me to get cracking and making my first,” he revealed.

“I absolutely love putting huge amounts of detail in each work and often my mosaics are mistaken for paintings.”

David’s episode of Home Is Where The Art Is will air today at 3.45pm on BBC One. And while it will be his David’s appearance on national television, it will not be his last.

He has already recorded another show which will air later this year, teaming up with presenter Nick Knowles once again, this time for popular show DIY SOS: The Big Build, in which he will create a bespoke mosaic commission for a family in Weston-super-Mare.

You can see more of David’s work at @bigandsmallmosaics on Instagram and @bigsmallmosaics on Twitter.