How do you create the colour palettes for your pieces? Is it something you just instinctively know?
Colour palletes come from many places. I often take inspiration from other peoples paintings – sometimes from paintings of the past, sometimes from things I see on Instagram. I also take cues from reference photos. Other times, vintage photographs have a colour cast or distortion over them where things are mainly red or blue, and that can influence how I start. I seem to prefer the warm colours as they give a real punch to the painting. I start with a background of acrylic paint put down with a sponge, then work on top of that with more acrylics and oils, and as I progress, I decide how much of the background will stay.
Where did you gain interest in your subject matter, and how would you define it?
I trawl the internet looking for vintage photographs, and also watch old home movies – these are often on library archive sites. Freeze framing movies help me feel more in control of the image selection, the next best thing to being there!
I don’t know why I prefer old images to contemporary ones, but they feel so poignant and moving as you see the life and hope in them, and now their time has gone. Perhaps I’m obsessed with my own mortality. Ultimately, I look for scenes that resonate because they feel real for me – relationships between people and states of being.
Many of your paintings are based on frames from family footage. Would you say that the home, or more specifically the childhood home, plays an important role in harbouring these memories?
Yes the home is very powerful, and the photographs are often sharp reminders of scenes and habits that were enacted there. They are universal themes of belonging, growing up, and expectations. I am of course particularly drawn to imagery from the time I was young – the 70s and 80s – but I also find poignancy in earlier times. We are not so different. I particularly like the childhood and teenage bedroom, full of the hopes and fears of fevered minds.
Similarly, do you feel that domesticity is a key element in your practice or your understanding of the subjects you depict?
I think in relation to women, yes. I use images of domestic work quite a lot – young girls preparing food or women ironing. There has not been a bright enough light shone on these assumed roles and how we are still submerged in the expectation of taking on these duties. It’s quite astounding how women had to live as servants to their husbands before now and for some, still.
Is there a human aspect you aim to capture in your works?
I don’t think of my paintings of people as portraits, it’s something to do with their bodily gestures. We reveal ourselves through our bodies and in relationship to other people. So, I hope to show this in my paintings – in the way someone stands, or their gaze.
Your work blends portraiture and abstraction. Do you feel that your technique leads to feelings of the uncanny, or that it can come across as unsettling?
Yes, I like those words. When painting group scenes especially, I can choose who to highlight with detail and description, and who to lose or obscure. My desire is to paint every face fully, as I love painting faces, but I have to hold myself back with gritted teeth to let some faces be undefined. People read different things in this, and that is wonderful and usually directly relates to their experiences. The description of faces or expression can guide the narrative of the work, and I dont think I’ll ever feel fully satisfied with the effort to do great portraiture versus the will to paint expressive stories. It’s definitely a struggle for me between the two.
You have mentioned in previous interviews that you are suspicious of nostalgia and that the stories your paintings tell can often have quite a dark side to them. Do you feel that this ties into the uncanny and that feeling of being both familiar and unfamiliar with a memory?
Being an “unreliable narrator” is a good place to play. Some people see sweet and nostalgic, some see threat and discomfort. I’ve just painted a few pictures of small boys with pets. Innocent and charming on one hand, but in my head I’m thinking of the training men receive to be keepers, collectors, owners, controllers… Do people know this? I don’t know.
In your personal opinion, do you think that nostalgia and the uncanny are antonyms or can they also intersect?
They can intersect. It’s very moving to see smiling, happy faces from the past, knowing they are all now dead. It reminds me of mortality, of our ancestors and all that has gone before, good and bad. Looking for a while at these scenes confronts me with all the hopes and dreams gone by and where we find ourselves.
You use lots of bold colors. Do they signify something specific?
The bold colours don’t signify anything – I do try and make them more muted sometimes! But I guess they help to define the painting as a contemporary piece and not just a transcription of the vintage reference. Maybe this makes them relevant to current situations.
How do you create a palette that fits the mood of your composition?
It is quite random, I use colours that I want to experiment with or feel would suit the mood. I usually put a filter over it in photoshop and play with different combinations first.
I often get colour ideas from other peoples’ paintings, and that begins my experimentation.
When did you start using negative spaces, and how do you feel this adds to your work?
Quite early on. I love unfinished and suggested areas in paintings. After all, it really signifies that it IS a painting, not a photograph, and I don’t want my work to be slick and overly realistic. Negative spaces flowing into the subject matter is a good way to create harmony and connection within the whole composition.
Do you have a favorite medium, and if yes, why?
Oil paint is my favourite medium. I love the richness of the colour and the way it enables you to work – changing things and blending them as you proceed. However, I do love acryllic paint and will use it throughout sometimes. I usually start every painting with an acrylic background.
Can you describe your creative process? What tools do you use?
First, I’ll spend some time gathering references. These tend to be photos on the Internet, in books, or home movies that you can find online. Lately, I’ve been playing with AI to try and generate the kind of images that I think I want, and with some success!
What motivates you to paint and sketch?
I’ve always been drawing, and now my main pleasure comes from the surprises that come along the way when you allow yourself freedom to explore an image. This usually means that you have an idea of what you want and you do everything to make it happen. Then, about halfway through, things will start to change or go wrong, and you have to make new decisions. Maybe use new materials, change your mind, or paint over the thing, and that’s very exciting! It’s a living, real-time event that requires you to challenge yourself.
Is there a difference between the fundamental message of your art and what audiences actually receive?
No, I do not want to tell people what to think or feel. I love that people get completely different things out of my work and I’m always intrigued to find out what people see. I have ideas about what things are, but I love that they can be interpreted in different ways.
How did your personal experiences influence your art?
Good question! Sometimes I get the frightening realisation that my work is not about the things that I think it is, that it’s actually about me and my life! I have yet to delve deeply into this idea as it’s too much!
Do you have a dream project or goal in mind that you are aiming towards?I would love to have a big show in London or New York and have the time to be able to do my best job for that. I would also like to do some sort of residency, where I could just paint continuously in some amazing place for a couple of months. Time is everything, really.
What have been your main influences over the years, and have they changed?
When I was young, I revered figurative artists like Lucian Freud, Peter Howson, Ken Currie and Jenny Saville. I was awed by Velasquez and Rembrandt on trips to galleries.
In the last few years my main influences have been Degas, Jennifer Packer, Kaye Donachie and Doron Langberg.
Is there a particular period of art or artist that has inspired you?
Currently there seem to be a lot of artists in New York doing exciting work – Doron Langberg, Colleen Barry, Salmaan Toor, Lorenna Lannes or Anthony Cudahay.
