Dwelling, oil on linen, 46cm x36cm
What are you working on in your studio right now?
I have just completed a week long artist residency at an artist run gallery in Brighton called The Communi Ty Arts Centre .I wanted to make work that was between painting, sculpture, collage and assemblage. and also between representation and abstraction .I found when I cut into the canvas it made an opening .I then attached string and hung the work up in the middle of the room, this made the viewer see through the work and able to walk around the piece seeing the back of the work as well as the front. This created a sculpture. I also have been making collages and three dimensional objects out of old paintings I have cut up in the past. I made a mountain range from cut up paintings assembled on an old wooden table.
Can you describe your working routine?
It’s quite sporadic. If I’m not in the studio I am mostly thinking about the next work. I accumulate ideas by sketching, taking photos reading books and articles these things normally create a starting point for me to work from. If I am in the middle of a series of work I have more of a set routine and am in the studio from about 9am till 9pm.I work fast and can paint a painting in one sitting because I want to capture that immediate quality. Sometimes there can be problems and obstacles to a painting or piece of work, so I try and rectify these before leaving the studio. I do not like leaving the studio if there is work I do not like on the walls. I would not be able to relax at night.
Installation view of Communi ty arts centre
Can you describe your studio space and how if at all it affects your work?
I used to share a studio with someone and although I enjoyed it I felt I was not connecting to the work as well. I now have a cabin of my own at the bottom of my garden and feel I can be a lot more experimental .Its quite an isolating experience which I think comes across in the work I am doing now.
Mountain Range, 3D collage
Tell me about your process, where things begin, how they evolve etc?
I have a vast collection of imagery, ranging from newspaper clippings, old photos , old paintings ,paint splattered cloths and old paper. These act as a spring board into a painting.’ The painting will go through many changes and eventually be completely different to the original photo. I want the work to take on a life of its own freed from its referent. The act of painting becomes as important as the final piece. It’s important to feel lost between the start and the finish of a painting but then arriving at something you are happy with. The subject of my work is essentially escapism. This can be portrayed by being lost in the making of the work itself or by painting actual everyday life that has elements of escape for example: trains, planes and holidays. I think it is more about escaping the mundane everyday life and connecting with something more spiritual and poetic, or trying to make a connection between everyday life and something more metaphysical.
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What are you having the most trouble resolving?
I suppose its bringing all the elements together to make a coherent body of work as a whole. But then I think that it doesn’t matter that it is disjointed .The steady theme that runs through my work is the notion of escaping ones self. The similarities how I work are in my own style. Whether the work is abstract, representational, sculpture or in any media is irrelevant. When I am working on a painting the problems I come across are about composition and balance .It sometimes seems like a gamble to paint, it can go both ways, either be awful or amazing .Its that feeling that makes me want to do more. I am currently working on some larger works after a long time working on small paintings. This is proving to be a lot more problematic than I thought. The painting cannot be just a reproduction of the smaller works, there has to be an element of surprise and chance in them.
Found Photograph
Do you experiment with different materials a lot or do you prefer to work within certain parameters?
I have recently started collaging and assembling recycled cut up paintings this only happens when I have enough detritus to make new work. I have started using found wood, string and masking tape to hold things together. I want the sculptures to look as naïve and crude as I can and not look crafted in any way. I want them to look playful.
What does the future hold for this work?
The sculpture is in its infancy but I would like to create a series of works with them. I would like to do more residencies where I can make more site specific work and have that sense of creative freedom.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I will be showing some paintings at The Sluice Art Fair 2013 in Bermondsey London in October
Thank you for interviewing me
