Seeing the EXTRA-ORDINARY in the Ordinary.
I paint in order to capture the moments of pure bliss along with the joys and the limitless freedom that surround us in this life.
Why?
Moments of pure happiness can be fleeting and often difficult to obtain in the complicated and busy lives we lead. But if we learn to stop and pause we realise those moments are all around us, even in our everyday, whether that be taking the time to appreciate a short stroll in the woodland or an afternoon spent at the seaside. It is these moments that re-energise and re-vitalise us and it is in these seemingly ordinary pleasures that we obtain extraordinary amounts of joy and energy. Some of my paintings of the world act as aspirational projections of the brighter days ahead that we have to look forward to making the artworks life-affirming visions of the world.
As human beings we are very rarely living in the present, as we are often looking back on our past memories in a nostalgic manner celebrating the glory of our past whilst simultaneously dreaming ahead; looking toward our futures. During the creative process of painting I am often deep in thought and so I naturally capture all of these states within my paintings to create timeless artworks alive with energy with optimistic outlooks whilst also capturing a nostalgic sense of the world.
Some of my portrayals of the world are deliberately naive, dreamlike and surreal with a stylised Pop-Art quality to them. This is because I am seeing the world through the eyes of a child where everything is unpolluted and unscathed and we possess limitless boundless energy and optimism. Because children give us so much hope as they are always in a state of excitement and wonder about the world around them. I want my audience to reconnect with this childhood vision seeing the world with fresh eyes where everything excites. It is in this state that we connect with the pure joys in this world.
‘The child see’s everything in a state of newness; he is always drunk’ (Baudelelaire, 1863)
My paintings aim to capture the ordinary moments in an extra-ordinary fashion in order to remind us of how much there is to celebrate and appreciate in our lives.
