I am a largely figurative painter. I constantly strive for greater looseness and more abstraction but my subjects continue to be present in my work in a largely recognisable form. However, while the subjects of my (mainly acrylic, sometimes oil) paintings are frequently buildings or city/townscapes I am less interested in the architectural details and much more in creating and communicating an atmosphere or a sense of the place as I experience it. My process frequently includes photographs as a source material and these I almost invariably take myself (I’ve occasionally drawn on old family photographs) on my phone while walking in the city streets.Â
I prefer lower definition photographs which I often print out in a monochrome scale to work from. This helps avoid the ever-present danger of focussing on detail or colours as captured by the phone. I take those elements of the photograph I feel are essential or of particular interest and incorporate, emphasise, modify or add to them on the canvas. Colours will often be intensified and the subject ‘edited’ to exclude much of the detail. I do try hard to make perspective work as my experience is that inadequate attention to this element can distract from my aim in the piece. My urban landscapes paintings are supplemented by figures, rural landscapes or portraits as can be seen on my website and Instagram pages. Having not had a formal art education my approach to painting has evolved over many years and has been shaped by the work of and interaction with others, occasional short or extra mural courses, informal private study and the experience of painting in a range of mediums. The works reproduced here are all available for sale through my website.
