Was there someone who introduced you to art?
My grandfather. He would constantly prepare new and varied creative skills for us to learn and develop.
This grounding has led to a lifetime where the ability to work creatively has become fundamental to my being.
Can you tell us about your artworks?
I want to express both emotional and physical experiences through my art. The creation of abstract works provides the perfect form for the expression of the subjects I wish to explore. The use of strong and bright colour gives joy to the canvas even when the subject may be darker in tone. I am obsessed with repetition, order and form and this comes through with the use of geometric shapes throughout my work.
How long does it take you to complete one of your works?
Work moves slowly in the studio, with each piece taking in excess of 160 hours of work to complete. I rarely commence a new piece until a current work is finished, although the next blank canvas is often within eyeshot and the new image is developing in my head.
What is your subject matter and where do you find your inspiration?
Inspiration comes from the shapes along the veins of a leaf, or the shadows falling from a city high-rise. It can develop from inner turmoil or outward visions of the world around us. Each experience or visual image leads to its own creative response, some developing into a series of images, and others into a single work depending on the strength or depth of the story they inspire me to tell. Over recent years as the world closed down, inspiration became far more introspective. Now as the world reopens, and we enjoy the renewed freedom to explore the world around us, inspirational opportunities also change. This wider view of the world around us has opened a brighter vista to explore and has begun to influence the nature and focus of the art I want to produce. My current series of landscapes represents the renewed vigour and opportunities to explore the world around us.
What materials do you use and why?
I love working with acrylic paints. The vibrancy of colour suits the work I like to create while at the same time providing the versatility of thin washes similar to watercolour. My work uses multiple fine layers of paint slowly built up to produce a strong depth of colour and tone; acrylics allow this layering efficiently due to its quick drying characteristic. I also like to use a fine flat brush, usually 1/16th in size or smaller to reduce the visible brush stroke within the paint.