A little bit about my process....

I had the great pleasure of having Kirsten Granich from Studio Door visit my studio a little while ago to help me record aspects of my process and inspiration.

As you may already know, I swapped a career in the fashion industry to begin painting full time in 2018.  When I first started painting, I always felt the need to distance myself from my design roots, weirdly believing that my design background was somehow in opposition to my fine art aspirations.

Now when I look at the history of my work I can see that I am hugely influenced by my love of interiors and fashion and that is part of what makes my work uniquely mine.

The way an artist works is such a deeply personal thing, and one that develops over time.

Recently I have been diving deeply into florals.  I’ve always loved flowers and nature and am always amazed at all the incredible colours and shapes nature has to offer us. My floral paintings are created using a process driven method which begins with me creating bright and stylistic floral images.  In the initial stages my brush strokes are loose and free and I take lots of time to play and experiment with colour as I build up the layers of paint. 

I use a combination of moulding paste and heavy body acrylic paint so that my brush strokes are retained as the paint is applied, waiting patiently for each layer to dry before adding another.  I’m interested in the way each layer builds to create delicate criss-crossing petal shapes and a richly textured surface.  Often, I apply paint directly with palette knives or other tools to provide a notion of leaves and foliage.

Once I have achieved the desired texture and depth, I start to apply thin washes of black or white paint.  These layers are wiped back while still wet, or sanded back with fine grit sandpaper, to reveal the coloured petals beneath.  This process exposes interesting and surprising shapes and colour combinations which I then edit to bring about the final outcome. 

This is a process that to some degree removes my ‘hand’, as I’m never quite sure what pleasing combinations with be exposed to demand accentuation, and what aspects will fade back or remain hidden. It can feel like an archaeological dig for flowers, and for me, holds the wonder of a treasure hunt.  I am always delighted with the unpredictability this way of working allows. The final process is one of creative editing, what to expose and what to keep submerged in the depths, a push and pull that results in the final painting.