About

I studied Fine Art at Glasgow School of Art. I work in oils, mixed media, ceramics, and printmaking. My work is predominantly figurative, the figures taken from life, adapted, and placed in imagined settings. Influenced by the landscape of my childhood, spent on the east coast of Scotland, the sea, sky, birds, the sun, and the moon rising over the water are motifs that often occur in my art. Early on, I became interested in twin images and reflections, and the idea of the imaginary masks we all wear in our different identities and roles in life.

My main influences are Picasso and Matisse for the graphic quality and simplified use of colour in their art, and Della Francesca for his classical style.

I work by choosing a theme, a memory or idea, often using observational drawings as a starting point. Then I experiment with different media to get the effect or result I want. I like the way an image will change and develop depending on the medium used.

Working with handmade ceramic tiles allows me to use utilise both strong colours and the images I have used in my paintings. Whether it be a canvas, an etching plate, a piece of clay, I see it as a surface on which to inscribe a seductive image.