Blood Meridian 2 Print

Painting is my working life. Since I left Chelsea in 2013, I have worked full-time at my art (leaving aside part-time jobs necessary to keep myself afloat). Painting is the best way to find a sense of personal satisfaction, to feel a sense of achievement. It is the thing I have to do and when it goes well, it gives me a feeling of satisfaction that I don’t find in anything else. My work is driven by a deep fascination with the entire process, from colour, light and shade, to layers and the effect of brushstrokes. There are always discoveries and small successes to be made. The development of each work is an oddly personal experience, led by what might be called artistic instinct, although I do not really have a name for it. When painting I try not to have a particular end in view. A particular fall of colours, a sweep of the brush, can lead to unexpected outcomes. It is absorbing, a kind of exploration in unknown regions. I find it exciting, challenging and, when it works, unbelievably rewarding. This explains why I paint for myself and why I have not been in a hurry to exhibit new work. I am really attached to certain pieces. My abstract artwork is a form of direct expression that I have chosen to disentangle entirely from any figurative process. At the same time, I have maintained an interest in figurative work and, in particular, in portraiture. For me, the portrait is concerned with the same principles. It is a form of intuitive expression, and it must be personal. You might call it a peculiar form of map-making, with boundaries, physical features and with personality. (Or you might not!) Together, I think these can make a likeness. My aim is to continue painting, to get better, to continue to make works that are pleasing and interesting, that people find enjoyable.