Paintings

 All of my work as an illustrator is based either directly or indirectly upon direct observation from life. I spend as much time as I can producing singular paintings, often semi-abstracted, but almost always drawn from things I know well; streets, parks, beaches, familiar people, or places
I’ve visited.

This kind of image making is significantly different from my illustration work in a number of ways. For a start it is usually larger, as it does not need to be reproduced and is meant to be seen on a wall. It is also more ‘direct’ in its relationship between paint and subject, as I am usually trying to find a visual equivalent to the experience of seeing an object, person or place, through the substance of paint and physical gesture. This often involves drawing and painting a series of forms, and then stripping them back to something essential that seems ‘true’. Picasso’s comment that a painting is ‘the sum of its destructions’ often comes to mind when working on these large canvases.

I don’t think it would be possible to keep my illustrative work ‘alive-looking’ without the kind of visual and emotional training that can only be acquired through direct observation.

‘Estuary’ oils, hessian, plaster and wood on board

‘North Beach’ oil on board, 120 x 120cm

‘Footpath’ oil on canvas, 140 x 140cm

‘Simon & Guinness’ oils, enamel, crayon, 150 x 100 cm