artists register

Statement

My recent work has mainly focussed on a contemporary treatment of still life, using traditional oil painting techniques.

The still life paintings begin with setting up a single object, or a selection of objects in natural light, or inside an open ended box, casting deep shadows from which the subject emerges. These can be anything from fruit or flowers, to junk shop finds chosen for their usefulness or decorative qualities, or items of personal significance. I work in oil in a traditional way, using layered glazes, representing the colours, textures and weight of the objects but the images themselves are of today - familiar, ordinary, but also beautiful.

In contrast to my paintings I also draw using charcoal. The subject matter differs, in that the work focusses on the world outside the studio, places visited and captured through the camera lens, to be reworked into scenes imbued with atmosphere and dark intensity. As with my paintings, the charcoal is built up, layer by layer with fixing inbetween, creating deep velvety blacks.

Biography