Welcome

On my website is a collection of some of my work and a few thoughts about what inspires me.

I use a wide range of materials in my work and the choice of acrylics, oils pastels and charcoal is often fairly spontaneous. I enjoy varying the mediums I use and find each has unique qualities that can lend something to the work.

I am more often than not trying to catch the ‘essence´ of something rather than the thing itself. It could be a place, a moment in time, a feeling, or a memory. I tend to move from a more realistic style to more abstract way of working as a theme or idea takes hold. I start with an idea and will sometimes go through a range of collected materials including photographs, sketches, old menus or pages torn out of magazines to help get in the moment again. Then I just begin and let things unravel. I work on quite tough surfaces so I can build up and scratch back into the surface. The finished work is a buildup of layers. I think this layering reflects life, the buildup of experiences, and growth that happens over the years, each layer drawing from, but partly obscuring the previous one.

I like to take advantage of accidents or changes in direction that happen on the way. This way I can stay in the moment and enjoy the journey rather than worrying too much about the destination. Like most trips you eventually ‘arrive´ even though some are harder than others. At the end of the day if one of my works strikes a chord with someone else, then that´s a nice ending. Enjoy.