My practice is rooted in a longstanding fascination with film, sport, and memories. Specifically, I’m interested in G.K.Chesterton’s concept of ‘wonder’ and the responsibility an artist has to dig for this ‘submerged sunrise’. Thus my work revolves around the question of how a painter can use their own interests, passions and memories to reveal this sense of ‘wonder’, and for the audience(indirectly) to bring their own lives and stories into the finished work.

 

I paint from photos of happy memories, films, and sporting moments, with an honesty and innocence that aims to put the viewer at ease, and give them the opportunity to merge their own experiences with the image in front of them. My hope, is that in creating this merge of memory and image, one is able to look back on their own lives with a more positive attitude, to take stock, feel emboldened, and press on. This is something I try to improve at every day, having struggled in my teenage/university years to find belonging and identity. 

 

Whether working on a large or smaller scale, my paintings consist of a figure moving through an environment on their own. This set-up combines my detailed approach to painting a figure with my gestural and vibrant use of colour, when creating the surrounding landscape. It also alludes to my own relationship with loneliness, and the tenacity I have to channel it positively, rather than let it define me. I exploit the vibrancy of oil paint and colour to convey my passion for what I love, to remind myself of the importance of having fun, the attitude I had as a child to life, and to hopefully awaken this in the viewer.