Philosophy
My paintings are about the search for expression of the inner life of a subject through its outward material form. For me, the physical world is a doorway through which one gains accesses to the mysteries of the inner world. It is through the alchemy of the union of these inner and outer realities that the inner beauty of a subject is revealed. Painting for me is thus a pilgrimage in which the artist, through working outwardly with his/her materials, journeys inwardly to a place of ‘inner stillness’ in which one participates in the universal flow of creation. Creativity is thus a from or ritual or prayer whereby the hidden face of beauty is revealed from within the darkness of matter. The technical disciplines of traditional crafts are in themselves vehicles of transformation through which Beauty is made visible.
For me the ‘image’ of a painting is not something which the artist imposes onto the surface of the canvas but rather the act of painting is in itself a process whereby the real life or ‘beauty’ of a subject is gradually made visible through the structural build up of the layers of paint and coloured glazes; it’s as if the image already exists, and the process of painting is an act of making visible that which veiled within the earths raw materials.
My paintings are constructed out of natural and traditional materials using a system of glazing whereby the light and shade is generated from with the paint layers. Out of this tonal composition colour is applied, built up thin layers of glaze. Working in this way, from darkness towards light, the image is gradually revealed, borne out of the union and expressive harmonies of darkness and light.