sun in a vase 4 Painting

Self-taught, I have learnt by looking at other artists work, sharing with them, watching tutorials on social media, visiting art galleries, museums, but most of all by trial and error. I want my paintings to make people smile and feel the optimism even though my subjects and messages are sometimes sombre. I paint onto large surfaces using acrylic paint and vibrant colours. My work is put together with layers. I build up layers of clean colour, leaving glimpses of what went down before, then I progress with one main thought in mind: what do I leave on the canvas? My recent use of spray paint and acrylic pens adds a more urban contemporary look to my work. The subjects of my paintings have been world preoccupations for a number of years but are very much present today in 2020. Their political and social messages show what a brutal world we live in but give an optimistic edge through my use of colour. In order to be distinctive, I do not follow a set pattern or rules but am spontaneous and paint with my “gut”. This makes painting painful as it sometimes doesn’t work but when it does, the feeling is amazing! My main subject is a series of portraits of women who fight for the right for girls to have access to education. I have also been working on a “no food waste” campaign with a number of Hilton hotels around the world as well as developing my paintings for a plastic free planet.