From pets to paint

Andrew Georgiou, the man behind internationally renowned comic strip Mr Gisby’s Totally Gay Pet Shop has moved from the pen to the paintbrush, creating and selling abstract works from his new gallery in Paddington. Georgiou was DNA’s main illustrator between 2000 and 2003 and his work appears in a number of international gay publications, including The New York Blade, Manner Aktuall and Zero Magazine. The large-scale abstract works range in price from $400 to $2,500, Georgio said. “There’s this trend of people owning mass-produced images that are just reprinted,” he said. “We wanted to create our own space, where people can buy pieces of original art that they can actually afford.” Georgiou’s gallery, W23rd, is at 22 Oxford St, Paddington.