My paintings capture moments that express a sensitivity to the human condition, & a spiritual connection with the natural world. I use colour & light to create a curious combination of stillness & intensity. The invitation for the viewer is to discover what the painting communicates & connect to one’s own visual sensibility.
I use both oils and acrylics on various sized stretched canvases and canvas panels, painting in multiple genres including portraiture, figurative, landscape and still life.
My painting style could be described as representative and loose. I use a range of visual elements in my paintings but it’s all about colour and light for me. I feel that painting helps me to ‘see’ - to look deeply at not only the perceivable colour and light, but also the emotional draw of the subject.
My mark making is varied, using a range of different brushes and strokes that can be seen in my loose painting style which may appear both smooth and slightly textured in sections of my paintings.
Painting subjects and inspiration are everywhere. People, places or objects, and of course colour and light conditions can motivate a painting. I write down ideas and take lots of photos. This provides endless fodder material. Images depicting moments that bring to mind a memory, a feeling at a moment in time are especially motivating. I immediately know when I want to try to represent these images in a painting.
My figurative paintings carry stories of inner life. Central figures are relational to their surroundings, and while an ‘other’ exists in the scene, they are on their own – in an emotional sense. That is the human experience – we have inner worlds. To me, that is a fascinating subject.
The landscapes I’m inspired to paint are places of natural beauty – these paintings have a reflective quality that evokes a feeling of contemplation.
I love the process of creating. After design & composition, I focus on values with a monochromatic under-painting. I then lay down darks, working loosely using larger brushes and continue layering paint, working my way to smaller, finer marks.
I enjoy the science and art of mixing colour. Generally, I mix from a selection of primary colours.
The evolution of a painting through its many stages may last for hours, days, weeks or months. The sense of anticipation when a painting comes together is so addictive.