Description

My Diary Wario by Rob Bishop

This piece of art is etched on maple wood.

Rob Bishop is a Hertfordshire/Essex based mixed media artist who studied graphic design at college and model making at University. Rob Bishop just loves wood. For several years he has worked as a cabinet maker and by combining all his skills he has developed a unique style of artwork that has caught public attention.

Rob uses a mixed media approach to his work which combines digital art, wood work and painting. He will digitally manipulate an image, etches it onto a 12mm maple veneered board then hand paints the piece by using many layers of wood stains, spray paints and lacquer. When satisfied with the image a final layer of lacquer is applied followed by a hand polished finish to produce originals or a series of original variations and finishes with a hand made frame. He produces either a large one-off original or a series of 10 or 45 whereby each image is hand finished and coloured to ensure uniqueness in every piece. Both the artwork and frame are finished with a thumbprint signature. No two pieces can ever be the same each therefore are truly original.

Wario is a character in Nintendo’s Mario video game series that was designed as an arch-rival to Mario. Wario first appeared as the main antagonist and final boss in the 1992 Game Boy game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. His name is a portmanteau of the name Mario and the Japanese word warui (悪い), meaning “bad”. Hiroji Kiyotake designed Wario and Charles Martinet voiced the character from 1993 to 2023, as well as other characters in the series, including Mario, Luigi, and Waluigi.

Wario is also the protagonist and antihero of the Wario Land and WarioWare series in handheld and console markets. In the handheld market, he is usually portrayed as a greedy treasure hunter while console games follow his exploits as a video game developer. Wario has also appeared in spin-off games in the Mario series, in other Nintendo properties such as in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, and in other media such as the Super Mario Adventures graphic novel. The character has received a largely positive critical reception.