Sylvia reclining, Limited Edition, 3 of 125. Print

I have often been asked "who taught you to paint?". The answer is always the same "nobody did, l always could". Well, most of the time I could, or I can.... I didn't get into St. Martins, but I did have an interesting interview there..... does that matter? To me it doesn't. It clearly wasn't meant to be.... my life clearly wasn't intended to head down that particular road. I have studied life and people extensively; participating at times and always absorbing...... life and people fascinate me (and also frustrate me!)..... I paint what I see, or imagine and I express what I feel.... using my vivid imagination. My creative mind twists and alters images, thoughts and feelings, which I then attempt to translate onto canvas. I paint because I love it and I want to share what l see, and what I imagine and what l feel... I feel I have something to say via my art. Sometimes the results are good, sometimes not.... The human body strongly influences many of my paintings, however, my art is certainly not limited to this. I have virtually no desire to paint bowls of fruit and vases of flowers; such things may be beautiful, however they do not personally inspire me to paint.... Not at this stage anyhow.... I am currently exploring my mind and experimenting, playing with abstract and abstract expressionism. I hate to feel restricted by a certain style.... well, I actually hate to feel restricted, full stop. Artists I admire/find interesting: Lucian Freud, Van Gogh, Picasso, Magritte, Edward Byrne Jones, Jean Francois Millet, Rembrandt, Rubens, Francis Bacon, Manet, Van Dyck, Bassano, Vermeer, Velazquez, Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth, David Hockney, Stanley Spencer...... I could go on, the list is endless!