I want my pieces to have a flow to them, a constant ebbing vibrancy within them, one that sucks the eye in and holds it there. I want the viewer to feel that spark of emotion when they look at the piece- that’s why I try to put as much of my own emotion & energy into them – transfer my feelings into the brush strokes & colour. I used to shy away from colour, believing I could create a stronger emotion in the piece through my brushwork alone. I thought colour was an unnecessary distraction within a painting, now I embrace tonality - light and shade, colour and form, all the aspects of a great painting. Limiting the palette only limited me.

There is no deliberate choice in the subjects I choose to paint, they simply are aspects of my life and particular moments that struck me as special…not special in like a wedding, but in the perceived mundane, that’s what interests me. Light is often a big factor, both artificial light and natural. How the inclusion of light can affect body, how it outlines a form and emotionally exerts itself within a piece. My current home also often appears as it’s where I work and its where those that I love are. The apartment can seem like a sort of art prison, but I see it as a symbol of me and a rather a self-imposed prison…but in a good way! The rooms are frames wherein my imagination can run amuck. I find I see clearer when I limit the viewing, everyday occurrences and objects...like showers or sinks take on a bigger meaning. All I can do is create an image that stirs me and hope in turn it empowers the viewer to feel something about that image. I cannot paint to order – no way – the paintings are me.

Technique wise I have a vague image in my head when I begin, though this inevitably isn’t what I end up with! I think the first stroke is the spine of the piece – necessary for the functioning and feeling of the painting. I never under draw and never ever do planned sketches – my interest wanes very quickly so I am always eager to get going on the actual canvas once an image comes to mind.  I throw myself into it for days on end and when I get bored I stop, too much work on a piece can often ruin it and certainly, in my case,  take away from the spontaneity of it. The image manages to appear by itself, I try not to adjust it too much, I want that initial innocence of the first stroke to remain when I have finished.