Mr Foxy & Monkid Diptych Painting

I have always been drawn to religious portable shrines and diptych, even as an atheist they hold some magic for me, naively painted and on seemingly ancient bits of wood, worn smooth by a thousand hands and journeys. They have a story which is interesting as it adds an extra dimension to any painting, as well as being better for the environment as it does not create demand for new materials. The small size is a counter to the sometimes overblown use of large canvases by artists, often made to fill space rather than for any aesthetic reason. This wood was found along the shore line in Penzance and processed to retain its original character. Mr Foxy who is from a photograph of a character in a London play and Monkid are frequently present in my work. They both represent the cross over between human and animal, we wear their clothes and steal their habitat, whilst we love and try to own them. This work took many hours to make as I discovered miniaturising images is harder than enlarging them. The hinges and wooden supports came together first then the painting.