CONCRETE canvas By Andrea Rowe Photos Yanni
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ver since he was a kid at Tootgarook Primary School, Tyson Savanah’s fingers have itched to draw and illustrate. But it wasn’t till he began designing artwork for his successful street food business that he returned to his artistic passion. Before long he was aiming his aerosols at the concrete canvasses of the Mornington Peninsula as the emerging illustrator and street artist, Father Marker. Now 37-years-old, Tyson is leaving big impressions through large scale murals and is now a respected multidisciplinary artist, with his “weapons of choice” ink, pen, and paints. But getting to this point required the Rosebud born artist to paint outside the lines for a bit. When his Dromana Secondary College career counsellor urged him to explore design, Tyson pursued a Bachelor of Industrial Design which he completed with Honours. “Product packaging and industrial design was useful, and I still call on those base technical skills when collaborating with clients, but it wasn’t a direction I wanted to follow,” says Tyson. Instead, Tyson took the path towards Melbourne’s creative city life, cooking in venues with memorable vibes, and painting murals for restaurants and nurseries on the side. “When went off overseas, I discovered street food culture. My entrepreneurial spirit loved being exposed to the possibilities of combining my cooking and industrial design knowledge, and a mate and I then set up Overdosa.” Overdosa was a destination food truck, frequenting cultural events and arts precincts, Melbourne’s Night Noodle market, Rainbow Festival, and Lost and Found market. However, their signature dosa dish had competition; patrons began seeking out Tyson’s eye for design, ordering a side serve of illustration, signage, and marketing imagery. His return to the Mornington Peninsula heralded a return to design, developing Boneo Maze’s branding as well as unique lantern designs for outdoor events.
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November November2021 2021