Born in Invercargill, the deep south of New Zealand, in 1982, Kieran grew up surrounded by motorsport, the family home just a couple of minutes' drive to Teretonga - the local race circuit, with speedway, Go - Kart and motorcross tracks all within a stones' throw.
His father raced Go - Karts in his early years, before taking up Midget car racing at speedway, and there was usually motorsport on the tv at the weekends when he wasn't watching it in the flesh.
Kieran started drawing and painting with water paints when he was about 7 or 8 years old.
Simple stick figures soon evolved to more complex pictures using arcrylics, as he started to experiment with abstract art as well as keeping his hand in with painting racing cars.
Apart from a few art lessons in school, he's completely self-taught.
In 1999 Kieran started racing Go-Karts, and the lack of available time, as well as other interests meant that only a few artworks were completed between '99 and 2006.
A couple of years after leaving school Kieran started studying to become an engineer, becoming qualified in 2006.
In 2007 he was gifted some un-needed art supplies, re-igniting the creative flame. The first few works created in this period were all abstract, as he experimented with different shapes and colours.
After a few years of painting both abstract and motorsport, he now concentrates solely on motorsport art, in a range of different styles, and his engineering background comes to the fore in his execution of paintings, with the artworks needing to be as accurate as possible. Kieran regularly shows his work in both group and solo exhibitions.
© Kieran Roberts Art
Artist's statement
In my works of classic motorsport I endeavour to portray the halcyon days of racing, when the cars were cleanly designed and aesthetically pleasing, while the circuits they graced were simply ribbons of tarmac in open fields, cluttered forests, or city streets with little in the way of safety. My works often have a different theme - sometimes it's a driver, or a particular car, or a venue, or any combination that is celebrated.
They were times which are looked back on as heroic drivers, mastering iconic cars.
From the photo-real scenery to the pop-art styles, I enjoy bringing these legends onto canvas in my own, unique way.
They were times which are looked back on as heroic drivers, mastering iconic cars.
From the photo-real scenery to the pop-art styles, I enjoy bringing these legends onto canvas in my own, unique way.
