ARTISTS TALKING

This was shortly followed by a studio move in 2000. I had been concerned about moving away from the hub of the art world – the commercial galleries, national collections and museums – so it was a very difficult decision to make.

I had been teaching at the University of Portsmouth and Southampton Institute for some time and had been a student at Portsmouth back when it was a Polytechnic, so moving here wasn't entirely an unknown quantity. In many ways relocation has had a positive effect on my work: my studio is very close to the university so in addition to my regular studio days I can easily work at lunch times and after teaching, enabling me to maintain continuity of thought and practice. There has also been more interest in my paintings since moving here; in London it can be difficult to make your work visible when you are amongst so many other artists clamouring for attention.

My recent paintings take a variety of forms, some are entirely text-based, some simple and emblematic and others take the form of landscapes with traditional principles of perspective and the dramatic potential of weather conditions and seasonal change. Others involve symbols floating lazily to the picture surface, jostling each other for space. All the works are carefully organised and constructed, with thickened acrylic paint squeegied onto the surface like an impasto screenprint, giving a highly plastic and clear image.

I am currently making paintings for 'Synthetic Truths', a major solo show at Aspex Gallery in Portsmouth. Taken from my own observations and sources such as corporate logos and supermarket packaging, these stylised representations are brought together to form new narratives and associations in a world familiar yet removed from our own.