Figurative Artwork
Figurative abstraction has been a continual undercurrent of my portfolio ever since I was a student. My Masters degree project was a series of huge abstract figures and through them I discovered that I was able to express so much of my inner life that I found almost impossible to articulate in any other way. My figures are based on memories and sensations and figurative work has always been a medium through which I can find a profound connection to myself and my emotions. I remember people as energies and, for me, those translate as colours. I use different colour combinations create visual impacts and surprises, analogous to events in life; they don't all have to be high-contrast fireworks and be exciting to have meaning, some are definitely more muted and monochromatic. Whilst we see each other as individuals, we all experience similar things; loneliness and happiness, creativity and stagnation are all sensations felt by most of humanity, so I'm fascinated in the use of colour to communicate and share these feelings that are triggered by events. There's a deep satisfaction in creating art - it's a cross-section of what's going on in my mind. I don't think of individual figurative paintings as things that are "complete", they're more like snapshots of a continual, dynamic evolution of the self; some bits are highly detailed and focussed whilst others are blurred, some details are further away, some things are highlighted like flashes of inspired awareness, other aspects are ambiguous or ignored completely.
