Upstream Drawing

Born: Bournemouth, UK 1981. I have been painting professionally since 2000, exhibiting my work at multiple venues nationwide and overseas. I regularly undertake commissions and I have sold approx' 40 paintings that are now with collectors across the UK and in other countries including the USA. My work consists mainly of oil paintings on canvas of either portrait work, or unusual landscapes, I also produce detailed drawings and dabble a little in 35mm/digital photography. Within my work, I aim to convey a strong sense of emotional depth in order to provoke discussions around feelings and thoughts which may be obviously or subtlety apparent within the work as a result of external or internal influences. My works are commonly based upon the exploring of everyday emotions along with their inherent conscious and subconscious thoughts. These common themes are also apparent within most of my landscapes, in that the human presences within my works act as tools in illustrating how an individual or collective conscious is affecting the landscape around them or indeed how the landscape is affecting the human element within the work. I regularly aim to show suppressive or uplifting elements within the landscape which address wider, more empirical concerns surrounding issues of humanity and mortality. When there are no figures within the work, I paint in traces of human presence or activity with the same objectives in mind. I am also interested in using texture within my work to convey a sense of history, to create worn surfaces that aid the appearance of character, depth and a sense of historical cause and effect.