I choose the subjects of my paintings spontaneously and intuitively in response to my current surroundings and lived experience.
My research has led me to artists who represent aspects of life that interest me and whose decision-making process have become part of my practice: for example, I have felt a connection with the work of Marlene Dumas whose paintings are also made following intuition, using the emotion she felt at that moment. Her emotive portraits have tactility and freedom that enable them to communicate directly.
I often create cropped paintings of the human form; these figures are often worked into until they portray the atmosphere I am targeting at that moment. The works create a sense of discontent, the subdued colours interrupted by the previous layers emerging and upsetting the controlled space. My subjects are often looking away from the viewer, portraying the disconnect we feel in the modern world. Using mediums such as charcoal, acrylic paint, and spray paint, I work on the surface removing and adding. I will continue to make and unmake the work until the subject has a glimpse of the true likeness of that which I am representing.
The visceral, unorthodox work of Paul McCarthy has inspired me, especially his way of painting and drawing, continual layering of drawing and erasing until his subject the worn-away subject matter becomes an authentic representation of his intention. Relying on my own intuition also allows my work to travel in whatever direction it feels natural until resolved.