I consider myself a portraitist first and foremost. It is the creation of likeness which fascinates me; a glint of gold in the shadows, the flicker of an eyelid, the shimmering pulsation of nerves under skin. Likeness is always at the centre of my work; the almost mathematical relationships of feature to feature are just the beginning, but accuracy is essential. 

Using the historically loaded medium of oil on canvas, but sometimes working on other surfaces such as sackcloth or decayed wood, I set out to create jewel-like treasures, like altar pieces or the small icons intended for personal devotion. Alongside my painting I also make the historically-influenced costumes which appear in some of my paintings. This is a response, I suppose, to my restless discomfort with a soulless, mundane 21st century devoid of decoration or beauty or the magical promises made by a century of fantastical predictions. I look back to the costume and manner of the 1880s, to Symbolist and Pre-Raphaelite art, to Art Nouveau and Japanese imagery. Costume, masquerade and artifice are essential elements of my work, continuing my long-time explorations of self-image and self-presentation. There is a sense of escapism; most of my paintings are of a single figure, of a solitary moment, withdrawn from the rest of the world. 

My paintings begin life inside my head, I see them there first; all my preliminary sketches and developments happen there. Then I begin to stage photographs for reference, controlling lighting, costume and pose, bringing the images in my head into the real world. Photographs are essential to my practice, particularly for my self-portraits - working from a mirror would not provide me with the unmoving accuracy I require. 

I relish the glowing transparency and texture of oil paint and more and more I seek to create, as well as the overall image, a kind of macro-feast of surface texture which can only really be appreciated close up. 

After an affair with the fresh bright colours of my photorealist paintings I am returning to a darker style. This is especially evident in My recent work for the award-winning Event Horizon books. My work here has developed an allegorical dimension as I have produced images with little stories attached. This has led to a development of personal mythology and symbolism in my work. 

Humans relate to images of of other humans, particularly faces, on a visceral, subconscious level; this is why portraiture is especially powerful and relevant. After layers of meaning and concept are stripped away, that relationship remains. My images can be very intimate and very personal, drawing on my own lived experiences of Love, sadness and joy.

Artist Statement spring 2006