I am a figurative artist based in London working in a range of media. Having spent two decades working as a commercial and creative photographer for magazines, design and advertising I have turned my focus back towards painting in the last couple of years.
I have wondered how this long standing relationship with photography relates to my activities as a painter and it is not surprising that I am currently exploring the potential of found photography as a source material and I am fascinated by the questions photography poses the painter.
Whilst seemingly objective and authoritative the photograph asks so many unanswered questions and is so reliant on context to be understood. Is this a movie still? A posed scenario? A historical document or a lost family photo ? Unwittingly photos can reveal the fault lines of class, gender, dream and ideal and of course they reflect varied obsessions of the painter through the act of selection and the alterations made to the source material in an ongoing search for meaning.
My Interest in found photography is supported by my regular study from life . The human figure and the idea of the portrait is at the centre of my sphere of interest and the necessity of sometimes working from poor source material is certainly fleshed out by a solid research into the workings of light and form on the figure.
These two activities run in tandem, as well as a curiosity about materials and their properties and the craft aspect of making surfaces and frames that complete the works.
Education
Kent Institute of Art and Design
Aberystwyth School of Art
The Art Academy London
Awards/Exhibitions
Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year Contestant 2018
ING Discerning Eye 2020. two pieces selected for inclusion
Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year Contestant 2020
Compton Verney “Sky Portrait Artist Of The Year” Group Show 2022