Statement and Biography

All that I can experience of the universe with any degree of certainty is matter, for me it is the visible and tangible end of space. This is probably why I gain such satisfaction from the experience of drawing or painting the human figure, flowers in a vase or an animal. All forms are made up of different configurations and densities. Light and shade pass over each in the same way. By emphasizing a brooding or settled half-light I try to give a sense of mystery to my images.

I often draw and paint animals because I am interested in their forms, textures and surfaces. When drawing an animal I am sometimes struck by a particular part such as a tuft of hair, an eye or an area of skin. There is a kind of horror at it's strange beauty and I am often startled by it's resemblance to parts of our own bodies.

I see animals as walking landscapes. I try to emphasize veins, bones, folds and muscles. They are interesting shapes within the overall form but they also have something very poignant to say.

Our own fate is linked to that of the animals, what we do to them may determine our own future. The unanswerable questions about our existence may come closest to being disclosed within our relationship to them.