Untitled Painting

Westley's process begins with small drawings and collages. The collages can include his drawings or are made from found images and coloured paper. The drawings and collages are made spontaneously without any prior idea or design in mind. However, as they progress, Westley looks to create contrasts, balance, or suggestions between the spaces, shapes and colours. When the composition communicates one of the elements mentioned previously, it is projected onto the wall to determine the final dimensions before transferring the image onto paper, wood or canvas. Most of the final pieces are created with acrylic paint. Westley's first love was and still is the art of animation. He always marvelled at the concept art, background design, colour storyboards, and storytelling from a young age, and traces from these films and designs can be found in his paintings. Later, he was also inspired by various artists whose exhibitions he visited in London and Paris and whose work he studied at university: Philip Guston, Kurt Schwitters, Howard Hodgkin, Picasso, Jessica Stockholder, James Turrell. Their use of light, colour, shape and texture heavily influenced his drawings and compositions. He is also inspired by walks around cities and unexpected sights revealed between buildings and moving perspectives and angles, and by rusting, neglected billboards revealing layers of old posters with contrasting textures, colours, and imagery. All of these influences combine in images that communicate an atmosphere, a narrative, and a sense of space to explore with figures or architectural elements, pushing away from an obvious likeness or simple interpretation.