Fine Artist
Orientation
I am interested in the discourse of painting and the language of figurative painting in particular. Situated within this discourse I am concerned with the aesthetic quality of paint, mark making and the materiality of paint on the surface of the canvas rather than representation. I am preoccupied with the ‘muddy moods of paint’, its ‘brilliant transformations’ and my own ‘unexpected discoveries’. (Elkins 2000:5). I am fascinated by the fact that paint can both mask and convey feelings, moods and meaning about a given subjects. I view the act of painting as a ‘transformative’ action – a kind of alchemy in which anything is possible (Elkins 2000: 193).
Subjects
My current practice focuses on flower imagery, the landscape and most recently the self portrait. My interest in these subjects is not motivated by a romantic sensibility. I am drawn to subjects for their inherent stillness, fragility, and the sense of history they embody and because the sense of trauma they invoke inspires feelings that move me to paint.