It is what I do. Simply because I have to.
2 What do you intend your work to convey to an audience?
I would like my paintings to give an insight into the lives of young people as I attempt to portray contemporary moral tales or urban myths. My paintings are a form of escapism in the romantic tradition.
3 Why do you work in your chosen medium and format?
I enjoy the contradiction of using a media that has no limitations, then working in a style that is rather limited. In way I try to resolve this in my paintings by bringing out the fantastical in reality. I also enjoy the fact that painting comes with a history and you are forced to deal with this in every mark.
4 Technically speaking how do you go about constructing your work, that is the image or object itself? What devices do you employ?
I create a scene which I then photograph. I work from a grided photograph which I transform in paint onto the canvas. I make subtly changes throughout and the finished painting is my translation of the photograph, actual set up and the image/idea within my head.
5 Which period(s)/artists/specific works of art are you influenced by and how directly? How does this manifest in your work?
My work has direct references from a variety of painting movements including Pre-Raphaelitism, Romanticism and Baroque. I will borrow compositions, gestures or themes from classical art. These appear in a variety of different ways.
6 What stimulates/informs your work from the world around you?
I am particularly interested in the lives of young people, their fashion, tastes and issues. These form the centrepiece of each work.
7 What stimulates/informs your work from your own personal experience?
My paintings are also drawn from my own experiences as a young person. Though these don’t always appear directly in the work, they allow me to feel an affinity with the people I portray.
8 From where do you derive your other visual source material (i.e. non art historical) and how do you implement this material within your work?
I get an image in my head of what I want to paint and they I will source suitable models and locations in a similar way to a film director.
9 What are the main problems that you face in making your work?
Most of the problems come in trying to find suitable models and locations. The painting is almost the easy part.
10 Where do you intend to take your work from here?
I am hoping to take my work more into Europe and allow these influences to seep into the work. I would love to travel to Scandinavia and use the scenery and myths to inform my work and take it out of the traditional English landscape. I am also embarking on a residency in Chongqing, China in November and I am interested to see how this will impact upon my practise.