Artist Statement

­­­­­My art practice has come to be focused on the search for an authentic process. Many artists I admire have a distinctive style. By style, I refer to the relationship between their subjects and techniques. I believe artists that sustain distinctive practices find an honest way to paint. They find a method that reflects their temperament and enables the expression of their interests and influences. Regarding my paintings I would summarise my temperament as impatient yet persistent. My ever-lengthening list of influences has ensured the steady deepening of my respect for the materiality of oil paint. This respect leads to persistently searching for a technical mastery that aligns with my impatient temperament. I want to make better paintings with increasing ease. Paradoxically, it seems the way to do this is to continue raising my expectations of myself and continuing to broaden my technical experience. I am seeking a perfect, formulaic method and then critiquing it to the point of constant amendment. This technical pursuit leans into my preference for ambiguous subjects as it requires I bend subjects to fit the technical expectations I set myself. In this way the painting becomes the director of its own story.​