About My Art
The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.
Lucian Freud
Art has taught me so much. I've learnt about colour, design, composition, the treatment of the surface, how to start a painting, how to solve problems during the process and how to finish a painting.
All of this is necessary and part of the process to create great art.
But it's taught me more than that too. It's taught me to be more self-aware; to question my thoughts and to try and empty my mind of misconceptions, bad habits and limiting beliefs.
I used to think that artists were rare individuals who were ignited by bolts of inspiration and creative genius and what transformed from this genius was amazing works of art, and that creating art was a mystical practice, only available to the gifted.
Nothing could be further than the truth - Artists are grafters. They turn up and hope, when their work doesn't excite them and seems difficult, they don't give up.
They keep going through the times when all seems lost continuing the journey working, exploring and being open to taking backward steps and relearning, or looking for a different perspective.
Working on each painting is a personal journey for me and can takes several months to complete building up layers and allowing the composition to unfold adding and removing marks, and balancing intuitive gestures with considered refinement and structured thought.
Once I start a painting, I often leave it hanging in the studio viewing it in various light and positions to achieve a greater feel and continued sense of direction and constantly returning to it and working on it over a period of time. I constantly assess and alter the painting, responding to the colour, composition, change in form and appearance, letting the painting come to life.
All my paintings are multi-layered, I work using several different media including acrylic paint, enamel paint, inks, oil pastels and pencils, building up the layers with washers of colour and thick application of paint to create depth, texture and intricate detail until I have a strong feeling of finality. I work on a multiple paintings at the same time giving me a greater vision to create a more structured and coherent series of paintings.
I am intrigued by the dynamic relationship between colour, detail and feeling, drawing inspiration from my longstanding relationship with the local coastline and love of typography, graphic design modern art and Japanese culture which feature both consciously and unconsciously at different levels within my paintings.