Statement


'My painting incorporates three seemingly different themes, linked by a sense of ambiguity, pattern and sensuality.

The portraits can be construed in different ways, not only is there a certain ambiguity of mark-making, there can also be a conflict of understanding - a glamorous, seductive quality with a contrasting suggestion of vulnerability, perhaps even voyeurism.

In a similar way the underwater world invites different interpretations according to personal experience and emotion - to one person the images might evoke a sense of calm and quiet, to another, panic or menace.

The flowers are abstracted through heightened colour and close cropping, the addition of water droplets serve to enhance the glossiness so pushing the traditional aesthetic beauty towards something slightly sentimental, even garish. I wanted to achieve an intensity and borderline gaudiness with these paintings, yet maintain an unapologetic sweetness.

Central to all of these themes are the colours and patterns created by the interplay of light and surface, they are one-offs, fleeting and unique. Photographing them removes them from context and sets them apart from reality, providing a flat, uniform surface to use as a starting point, the photograph itself becoming the subject.'




Education


1998-2001
BA (Hons) Fine Art (Painting)
Bath Spa University College

1997-1998
BTEC Foundation Course
Falmouth College of Art