Abstraction as a art movement was about becoming free of representation, about ideas rather than things or events. This is a very appealing notion for me and an interesting and poignant way to explore complex topics. I try to created visual poems with my abstract pieces. As my work develops I try to introduce new textures, imagery, symbols and colour palettes to create uniquely beautiful, subtle and individual paintings.

This set of brighly coloured paintings done over winter 2017. They are exploring LGBTQ non binary identity.

I was working on this set of abstract landscapes using sketches from live, then developing these in the studio and collaging them with the aim of finding a new language to represent and present the scene

As a way to develope my abstract painting I have been doing collage inspired by sketches made in the landscape.

I started the ‘New Abstract Downs Link’ landscape last year applying some of the methods of abstraction that I had been using with the crowd movement paintings, but not able to resolve the painting to a point that i was happy with it. Then in March I did a short course with the painter/ tutor Simon Carter. He encouraged me to do a lot of new experimentation. This included using collage which wasn't something I'd used before. I found it to be a really useful tool for creating dynamic abstract compositions. Ultimately this helped me to finish the painting and I am continuing to use this method of development in my abstractions.

There have been 3 main themes in my work so far:

1: Manmade structures in nature, 2: human connections/ interactions and 3: pathways.

I wanted to try and combine these themes. I sketched a variety of urban scenes and marked where people moved and traced the lines of their movement. In the studio I tried many different compositions in study form and started a number of paintings to address this idea. After many false starts and some false finishes i have begun to find a style that works for the subject.

I did a series of small paintings on board from sketches of the eroded chalk forms on the beach between Brighton and Seaford. The idea of the erosion led me to experiment with textured pastes, added to the board before painting, and applying the paint in layers and washes.

I was continuing to exploring abstraction in my work. I am always delighted when people interpret my paintings, bringing their own narratives.