My practice is rooted in the human figure, using distortion and abstraction to create images that feel more psychologically alive than photographic representations. Working primarily through portraiture and figuration, I use exaggerated colour, shifting anatomy and expressive mark-making to create characters that exist between observation, memory and invention. The figures in work emerge from a range of origins, with some based on people close to me and others developing spontaneously through the process of painting. My approach is improvisational, allowing intuition and subconscious decision-making to guide the development of each image. Through distortion and invention, the work explores how aspects of personality and presence can be revealed beyond physical appearance. As I value rawness and immediacy in painting, I often work on found surfaces such as discarded wooden boards. Alongside oil paint, I use acrylic, emulsion, spray paint and other readily available materials, embracing their unpredictability and allowing them to shape the character of the work.
