I began by painting the observed world but now I paint what I imagine, not what I see.
I begin each painting without too much planning… perhaps a starting shape or some testing of colours.
I am an emotional painter who responds to the lines, shapes and colours – as I paint – never certain where I will finally land! Sometimes the initial marks get to survive as laid down but as I engage in the process of reviewing and revising, painting over and scratching through, reworking shapes and adjusting colour, they may disappear or change beyond recognition. Creating a finished painting is a process of addition and subtraction.
For many years, I worked behind locked doors, in a variety of correctional settings. My free-wheeling painting provided the perfect antidote to the rigidity of my work life in a para-military organization.