Subway twenty seven Painting

A lot of my work comes from the UK's urban scenery. I tend to avoid its more recognised attractions, searching for the views to reflect my mood or, increasingly, what seems like the darkness of the age. Using my photos as a guide, I aim to paint more freely than photorealism. 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 accepted — arguably universal — and not confined to prettiness, elegant shapes or particular types of subject. I look to combine what for me is the visual appeal of my preferred 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 garden, which I’ve allowed to look increasingly post-societal.