My art is based on the conviction that our most personal is in fact universal. My practice begins in an honest self-exploration, tracing a web of intuition, dreams, memories and secrets. As an artist, I consider it my job to translate and share this often shameful and ethereal world. I believe that to make beautiful what is often, dark, private and painful is a path towards finding acceptance.
The source and content of my work is intuitive, while my practice of making each painting is intentional and premeditated. Some of the recurring themes in my work are representational images, the odd juxtaposition of objects, open spaces and layering. Together, these themes form a language through which my feelings are expressed. I paint realistically because I believe; it allows me to communicate with the widest range of people. Realism transforms my obscure and ethereal concepts into recognizable imagery. The objects and animals in my work are common and often symbolic, alluding to childhood, the home, nursery rhymes and fairytales. Typically they are in unpredictable situations, for example pigs balanced on a boy’s feet. These peculiarities are intended to provoke the viewer into questioning the nature of reality. My subjects are surrounded by vast and open spaces. This space is my response to a very crowded and over-stimulating city and is intended to punctuate and give breath to each composition. Its vastness is created through layering and the subtle use of color theory. The layers record the struggle, transformation and discovery implicit in my work, mirroring my process of introspection. They represent the passage of time and suggest that there is much beneath the surface
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