as something special. This culminated in a first class BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art from the University of Hertfordshire. The real life effect
Post-uni, financial pressure saw me following a career in finance. It paid the bills, but it didn’t even come close to satisfying the longing that lay deep within me – the creation of art. I craved my daily escape from the City of London to the welcoming space of my studio, dispersing the frustrations of the day onto canvas through the use of colour, light, dark and form. It was my time to release, my time to create and to feel at peace – a complete antithesis to the madness of the banking world. Living this life of polar opposites, it should come as no surprise that my style developed and evolved into one that embraces paradoxical, contrary themes. Black with bursts of bright colour, the battle between light and dark, form versus nothingness… Chaos and order face each other, meeting but never quite merging, complimenting but never becoming one – but ending with an ethereal, aesthetic beauty that reflects the deepest, most intimate layers within me. I guess what I’m trying to say is that my work is an expression of everything that makes me as a person. Years of working in a high-pressure environment saw art become my form of escape, and my style is one borne of frustration. Yet the explosiveness is challenged by my internal love of fine art, delicacy and penchant towards all things spiritual. Transforming real life into art forms
I paint primarily on large canvas and wooden panels. This allows the space for contemplation, creative freedom and experimentation. I love the abstract; I love colour as form, using the relationships between shades to create light, space and temperature, for these truly allow an image to become alive. I utilise rollers, sponges, palette knives and cloth in my creations. The relationship between the canvas and I is deeply intimate, and the use of such tools before picking up a brush allows for deep connection. Then when I finally begin to ‘paint’, I’m at ease and my expression flows onto the canvas. My style has naturally, evolved into one that’s been deeply influenced by my formative years and time spent working in the financial world. That daily fix of city life has given me a hunger and fascination for street life, urban culture and the metaphors they create. The raw magnetism of London, where high-flyers rub shoulders with grime and decay, is mirrored in these mixed media works. Utilizing a number of methods, they combine harmony with chaos, depicting raw, honest snapshots of specific points in time of City life. Deeper meanings
At first glance such large, carved, collage paintings appear a pandemonium of scrawls and cuttings. This initial interpretation is intended, for the art represents what is essentially the polar opposites and multiple tiers that make up life in the metropolis. Many of the collage elements of much of my work are taken directly from the street where they were first displayed. Posters, flyers and street adverts have long held my fascination; the artwork of the original posters being constantly overlaid by others, and the passing of time means layer after layer of designs creating an ever-transforming art of their own. These dynamic street displays are both decaying and vibrant, a piece of history yet brand new each day. Choosing which to tear down and juxtapose back together is a vital element of the finished product, somewhat like a dated 1960s office block being demolished in order to make way for a shiny new offering. The art teases and invites the viewer to explore the story before their eyes. As a whole, the piece resembles the sensory overload that we all feel when immersed into the mayhem that is London life. Colours, noise, smells – all the human senses assaulted by that very moment you stand within the melting pot of street life. But when you begin to explore further, you realize that what you’re actually seeing is a snapshot of a specific moment in time, forever captured within the art. These are pieces that, like the posters, flyers, symbols, fonts and texts within them, are an ever-changing story to be explored time and time again – because, the same as each and every one of us, we need to determine, understand and re-work exactly what is represented. In short, the pictures are a metaphor for the layers that make up the human psyche. We rip, tear, heal and change – transforming over time into something deeper, beautiful and fascinating. Methods used
I use a combination of methods in the creation of such a piece. From collage to brush strokes, carvings to power tools, the patchwork of colours and mediums challenges the viewer to fall deeper into the time capsule of London life and work out it’s dynamic meaning for themselves. For me, it’s about what makes me who I am
Despite art being my one true love (along with my partner, Sophia), it took a major health scare for me to make the leap from art as a hobby to art as a full time career. I now work from my studios in London and Devon, creating commissions around the world for private individuals, corporate projects and everything in between. And I create from the heart. I’d love to hear from you if you’d like to be part of my ever-evolving artistic journey. For more information on available and upcoming work, feel free to get in touch. Simply click the 'Send Message' button above or call on +44 7793552210.
