Made in 2016.
Part of a series of large abstract paintings in which I set out to create drama and movement in the work as well as adding texture with the use of marble dust.  

 The paint and marble dust was mainly applied with a palette knife. My main influence being Antonio Tapies and LEM . In this painting I wanted to move away from creating the same kind of pattern as I did in Shock 1, as I had produced several paintings in between Shock 1 and Colour 4 and found my self-repeating the same pattern. 

I wanted to break the repetition but maintain a sense of energy, movement and vibrancy. 

I was also aware that some of my previous work had led me into over complicated patterning so I wanted to achieve a structure which relied on much broader strokes. 

Made in 2016. 
Part of a series of large abstract paintings in which I set out to create drama and movement in the work as well as adding texture with the use of marble dust.  The paint and dust was applied with a palette knife. This painting was made over a period of two months with a lot of over painting and consistent changes  .

Made in Blank studios ,Portslade on the outskirts of Brighton .(I had  a studio here for the last 2 years). My main influences were Antonio Tapies and techniques learnt from Jaques Lecoq.

(In 1990 I was lucky enough to be selected to attend the THE LEM Master CLASSES with Jacques Lecoq and architect Krikor Belican, which took place at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow. The Lem Course  - Laboratoired’Etude du Mouvement (Translates as The Laboratory for the Study of Movement)

The workshop examined the relationships between movements of the body, theatre and architecture. Exercises within this programme (that I have since updated and developed for my own teaching) are primarily practical. and involve drawing (both abstract and literal), painting, sculpture, three-dimensional design and performance. 

 

The LEM course was particularly concerned with the relationship between the human body and the constructed space with in which it moves. The course explored and focused on the understanding and dramatic potential of objects and materials and the spatial relationships between them. The course also studies: The dynamics of colours, their movements, their textures, their speed, and their relationship with the human body and to the human passions. (Translation from Lecoq’s own program.) )

 I had no photograph of my father. Just the names of two of his

 friends from his  university and a few notes scribbled on a scrap of paper that my mother had given to me. I had no idea of how I would find this man .No idea of who or where he was.

As my search for my father unfolded I struggled to let go of all expectations and explore the unknown.

 I had to immerse myself in story. ‘ I was the story’ and had to let go of any preconceptions. What followed involved the doctoring of some old photographs, disguise, and discovery of a twin, a scorpion sting and a tragic suicide.

I found this photograph on the street in Ouaxaca .It resonated for me as an imagined self  I have kept it as I knew that it would have significance in my future work.

It will be integrated into a project that I am currently assembling for performance . 

 This was an earlier work that I sold and so I made a second version of the same image with some slight differences. I wanted to make a painting that had a Mexican feel to it working with earth colours such as yellow ochre and   turquoise .My main influences were Picasso and Jean- Michel Basquiat. I worked with a palette knife, brushes and a sponge.

 

Made 2010
This painting was produced over a period of about six months. I started it with no clear direction and became concerned with intricate detail and patterning. A desire to lose control led to drinking too much red wine in the early hours of one morning and this led to the final version as you see it. I sold this painting shortly after completion.