Having travelled to, and lived in, many parts of the world I have seen people and places that inspired me to paint. I wish to show how much beauty and wonder there is in the world, even in everyday objects, people and animals. I am moved by people’s expressions, and try to capture their thoughts and feelings. I get a thrill from the challenge of securing a likeness, seeking out the smallest detail and responding to it with sensitivity, delicacy, and bringing that person to life on my paper.
I paint landscapes and portraits that convey strong feelings as I wish to elicit an emotional response as well as understanding and empathy. I use bold colours to create the emotion, overemphasizing the beautiful colours around us that are so often taken for granted.
Mostly I paint in the studio using reference photos gathered from my travels and from around my home. I use the paint to give a realistic and glowing quality to my paintings, and am able to create texture, depth and transparency as well as boldness and light to balance the paintings.