The Artwork

I tend to work figuratively in a contemporary style. I carry a digital camera with me all the time in case I see something I want to portray in a painting or work of art. I work from a combination of photographs and sketches.

I work on two or three canvasses or surfaces at a time. I keep a spare blank surface which I look at on a daily basis until it speaks to me and I sense what I need to express.

The surfaces I have worked on vary from reclaimed timber doors, salvaged table tops, textured paper, canvass with paper mache, modroc and glass.

I work in many ways, but my recent way of working is to manufacture a textured image which I build up by a process of painting, drawing, sanding or scratching. There can be a varied and amalgamated combination of subtle paint layers, drawn layers, and scratched layers. I find that the scratching gives a special relationship to the piece of work. This is because I believe that the reality of the work cannot be fully understood from the outside looking in. The scratching allows me to touch the depth and heart of the painting, often revealing the raw spirit of the surface. I find that this method works particularly well when I am trying to communicate the feeling of something ancient and lived in. I try to reflect the period of time that has gone by. The imperfections in the surfaces reflect the imperfections which we as people and the environment also have. They also reflect the experience, age and passing of time.