Spike Wademan

illustration and paintings by Spike Wademan

Spike Wademan is an award winning illustrator and artist.

Having worked in the advertising industry for many years in both London & Sydney, Spike made a life style change in 2000, and moved to Queenstown, New Zealand, for the magnificent alpine scenery, and to allow for more time for his true passion, aviation art.
Spike's father was a Spitfire pilot in WW2 which greatly influenced his youth. As a teenager he joined the Air Cadets hoping to follow in his father's foot steps, however, his rare talent for drawing led him into a career as a commercial illustrator.
Over the past 30 years Spike has specialised in technical illustration including cutaways of ships, planes & cars. He has illustrated many educational, and fantasy books for children, designed and painted book & CD covers, and done countless story board frames for TVC's.

Since moving to Queenstown Spike has rekindled his love of aviation and nautical art and painted numerous epic scenes exhibited at top NZ air shows 'War Birds Over Wanaka', and 'Classic Fighters' in Blenheim. Spike also exhibits at the newly appointed Aviation Heritage Centre at Omaka.

Spike keeps up his book illustration for both Australian & New Zealand publishers, and is regularly called on by international and local film companies as he is the only storyboard artist based in the Queenstown area.

'To visit Spike's studio is like stepping into a wonderful place of adventurous pictures, with incredible detail. He is a genius'