Artist Statement

As a practicing Fine Art Painter my art practice is rooted in tradition and observation. I see myself primarily as an image maker. Conveying the world around me through the use of narrative subject matter, social and political themes and the relationship between man and his ever- changing environments the main constructs in how I work. Emotional response through my strong use of shape and color gives my work a vocabulary that stems from my love of the great masters of history. By studying the work of the great artists of the past including Velazquez, Michaelangelo and Caravaggio I can find the solutions to the problems that I experience in producing my own artworks.

The majority of my artworks are Oil paintings on canvas. The feel and texture of painting on cloth is a great feeling. Creating art is a magical and mystical experience. By using a variety of material, tools and ideas I develop my own identity and communicate experience. Abstract shapes and photographic influences are often used in the creation of artworks that include urban landscapes and interiors. I am currently working on a series of historical paintings based on the Romans and Classical Italy which are among my favorite subjects. I am interested in bringing back the history painting ethos of the past.

Among the artists I have been studying recently are Gericault, Picasso, Leon Golub and Goya. All of these artists depicted highly charged subjects contemporary to their times. I also aim to be a recorder of the time and events of history. I tend to work on several artworks at the same time. This process leads to keeping me fresh in thought and vision. Working in series helps develop narrative content and a progression of theme. My ambition is to become a diarist of social and world events. Therefore I keep up to date with world politics and changing events by using the wide range of media including newsmakers and the World Wide Web. I am in the process of building an archive of political and social subject matter that will help me develop my artistic vision.

I also keep up to date with contemporary image makers - in particular social realist painters. In my view Picasso’s Guernica was a social realist painting in that it was conceived as a reaction to the bombing of the Basque town in Northern Spain. It made people aware of a tragic event. In my art I intend to draw attention to positive and negative issues. I also intend to make art that is both cathartic to some and pushes the issues of Human rights, Justice and Empowerment.