The above painting ("Fastline" 2010 oil on linen 540x1490mm) illustrates how I felt pre-2021…

My paintings are about capturing and replaying important, personal images. I want the observer to see the world as I saw it. Whilst I paint in several styles, I am a realist at heart. It is to this style that I continually return.

It would be wrong to say that a scene's subject matter is unimportant to me. Nevertheless, it is the collage of abstract shapes, textures and colours it offers that forms the attraction.

Out of pragmatism, photographs are used to collect information and provide the beginnings of possible compositions. Once a composition has been identified then its component images are brought together (resolved) through perspective based drawing.

A great deal of editing then takes place, removing those elements that are either superfluous or confusing, whilst adding in or highlighting those that are vital to the telling of this new reality. Creating my own worlds in this manner offers a great degree of artistic freedom as I'm not shackled by the concern that the finished article must be an exact replica. What's more important is that it offers a plausible, alternate and aesthetically pleasing interpretation.

The end painting is a representation of reality from a macro perspective, for what was painted with fascination and delight at a micro level. Thus, I see myself reducing complexity into simple, clean, beautiful and distinct shapes whilst maintaining the overall illusion of reality.

In terms of subject matter then my attention has moved from reflections (be they in water or glass) to what may be termed as "beauty in the mundane”.

Whilst i'm still seduced by scenes of striking colour or lighting conditions, I am more and more, captivated by urban decay and disorder. Such scenes seldom receive a cursory glance and are often dismissed as eyesores. These I wish to paint in a clinical, unsentimental manner with the aim of revealing their hidden beauty.

Post-2021 the following painting ("Lucy" 2021 acrylic on canvas 300x1000mm) reveals my current position...

My paintings attempt to capture feeling through implied, rather than explicit detail.