User Account

What is your favourite film of all time?

I’m not sure about my favourite film ever although at the moment I like Children of Men.

What music are you currently listening to and why?

Even though I listen to lots of different music, recently the album I have been listening to religiously is the new Portishead album (called Third). I absolutely love their song ‘The Rip’. It’s a really great album to listen to in the studio.

Which living artists do you most admire and why?

Angela da la Cruz. The ideas she uses of de-constructing what a painting physically has to be by breaking the supporting stretchers (and so turning them into sculptures) are great. I also love how you can genuinely feel sorry for her paintings because of the violent acts that have physically happened to them.

Which deceased artist do you most admire and why?

Da Vinci because his work is amazing.

Which exhibition that you have visited made the greatest impact on you and why?

The first room in the ‘Material Gestures’ section of Tate Modern. ‘Ishi’s Light’ (a sculpture by Anish Kapoor) sits opposite, two paintings, ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’ by Barnett Newman. I think there is something really great about the relationship between the three artworks even though Kapoor’s work was made 50years after Newman’s. Even if you are not interested in the religious connections with the work, there is still something humbling about standing facing the inside of Kapoor’s sculpture with the reflected vertical beam of light in front of you and the reflections of Adam and Eve either side of you. You can really feel something deeper than just the pure aesthetics of the art works.

What is the question you get asked most frequently about your work and how do you answer it?

“Is there any emotional element in your work or is it all purely process based?” When I answer I usually say something like, “of course there is, all the colours and layers and compositions come from things that are on my mind” although I recently read a quote from Sean Scully which seemed to sum up a bit about what painting means to me. He said, “Religions are just ways of explaining the inexplicable… Abstraction is a way of reminding people that we don’t know and we don’t understand an awful lot of what is going on.” I like the idea that painting can say something on a higher level than can be explained in words.

What / who inspired you to be an artist?

My Neighbour Chris. Now he is retired he just paints all the time, relentlessly. I have really admired his work and enthusiasm for art since I was a kid. He was probably my first artistic influence.

Can you tell us about where you make your art and what if any the significance of this location is?

I have set up studio in my Grandpa’s Garage for the time being which is nice because I can go there any time I want to even if it’s at midnight.

What do you like most about being an artist?

The fact that hopefully absolutely anyone in the world can get something from looking at a piece of art, even if they just like the colours.

What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date?

My Degree show and being selected by Norman Rosenthal for Noise Festival.

What are your plans for the coming year?

To work hard and get involved in lots more exhibitions and to meet lots of like-minded people.