The academic or technical aspects of painting and drawing have always fascinated me. I strive to challenge myself creatively by employing methods and processes pioneered by masters such as Carravagio and Zurbaran. Techniques widely used in the 15-1600’s, such as monochromatic underpainting, glazing and dry brush, are adapted to create working processes particular to each subject. The process of learning and acquiring knowledge of these methods is a strong motivating factor for me. Each painting could be seen as an exercise in the mastery technique.

With the help of life models I am able to explore my interests in anatomy. The poses are usually based on particular physical dynamics such as the torsion of the body, the tension of a muscle group or the weight of a limb. I attempt to deconstruct these characteristics in order to represent them accurately and convincingly.

The Style of this work stems from my long held appreciation of the dark, moody and striking images from Baroque and Classical art. The strong chiaroscuro lighting of Carravagio and the tactile quality of Titians drapery have been of great influence to me. I have borrowed elements of these styles and married them with unusual and challenging poses and compositions more reminiscent of Twentieth century work. The juxtaposition of these different approaches hopefully culminates in something that, whilst remaining progressive, pays homage to the fading notion of painting as a skilful craft.