Old Church Playgroup Painting

My paintings come mainly from less loved UK scenery, especially of the urban, generic and run-down variety. I tend, with odd exceptions, to avoid more popular attractions, preferring a view to match my mood or, increasingly, what seems like the darkness of today's world. Through present-day surroundings and the people in them - sometimes the main subject - the work often tries to reflect, amongst other things, our age of existential threats. Helped by my photography, I usually paint more loosely than a photorealist would, leaving some feeling on the surface. I am more concerned with atmosphere, colour and socially relevant content than with concept or form. Aesthetically speaking, my main message would be that beauty is wider than generally accepted - arguably universal - and not confined to prettiness, elegant shapes or particular types of subject. I aim to combine what for me is the visual appeal of my favoured locations with a sense of contemporary malaise. As well as continuing with my usual stuff, lately I’ve been working on a new fantasy series, trying to make something strange and dystopian from images shot in my ex garden, which had grown to look quite eerily abandoned.