Statement

Drawing and painting are of equal significance in my practice.   My approach is intuitive, having developed out of an extended period of experimentation.   I find drawing expresses an idea or form quickly, efficiently and openly; it is an exploration using line and other marks.  In contrast, building up layers of paint to make a painting takes longer to resolve.  As my process has developed, so I find myself – usually – in conversation with shape and line. This helps me resist the pressure of pushing a painting to become a picture too soon.  It is when a conversation stops that I cease working on a piece.

Most recently, I have returned to my art school roots, to make small sculptures from recycled materials.  The sculptures are developing into a body of characters and towers, painted or using discarded canvases to form a new narrative relating to water and hinterlands.  Essentially abstract, they nevertheless carry a physical and sentient presence, complemental to each other, as well as to my 2D work.

Since my work hovers between the abstract and figurative, an added gesture can take it to a different place.  Within it there is often a kind of primordial narrative, even though I don’t know how it will manifest itself as the piece develops.  Devising an accompanying title is an important part of the resolution process – albeit more attuned to a feeling, rather than identification.