“So… What do you paint?” He asked. Arrgggh! This is a dreaded question but it’s always asked once the topic of What do you do? is broached. “I’m an Artist.” “Oooh, what kind of art?” …and so on. Not only is it difficult to describe to non-arty people, but it’s actually very difficult to describe in words to oneself — that’s why I PAINT as opposed to, say…write?. I thought it might be a good exercise to attempt some sort of description here, though – at least to thrash out my current thoughts on the matter, which will no doubt change before I’ve even completed this post.

Firstly, and this might come as a surprise to some, my work is deeply rooted in figuration. The paintings are representations of real world things and places. How I see them? Partly. How I feel them and remember them? Definitely. They are memories of things and/or of place. They are experiences manifest.

Secondly, the paintings are also about process; they are about paint. Painting is a very slow medium and in order to translate experience into a painted thing, one must become a student of the medium, its history (which can weight very heavily on a painter) and of painting in its contemporary context.

But how can I explain this to the layperson who has merely asked “what do you paint?” to make polite conversation and isn’t at all interested in, nor would understand a complete answer? “I paint… erm, ya know, ” I stutter… “kinda-like abstract-style landscapes.”