Lock and Key Painting

After a career working in the fashion industry I changed direction; took a degree in fine art, and began a new journey through paint. The inspiration for my work originated with a fascination with the contrasts between the urban and rural landscape. This has since evolved to become an enquiry into the formal aspects of contrasting visual languages on my canvas. Raw painterly gestures are set against controlled mark-making and organic elements play against synthetic surfaces; the result, a fresh and bold visual landscape. My use of resin paint has lent my work a contemporary edge, though by virtue of its properties is less easy to manipulate than other mediums. Consequently my work is more open to accidental happenings; these chance occurrences often challenge me to resolve paintings in new ways. I am a strong advocate of Francis Bacons sentiment, that: All painting is an accident. But it is also not an accident, because one must select what part of the accident one chooses to preserve. By combining synthetic surfaces with traditional media, I aim to both challenge and captivate the viewer. I am influenced by many artists; some of whom include Fiona Rae, Pia Fries and Antony Micallef. I am also particularly inspired by the work of Bernard Frize and Alexis Harding for their innovative manipulation of paint media.