What are these paintings about?

There is a recurring question in my work: how can a painter hope to capture the essence of a person or place without becoming side-tracked by physical appearance? When I look at something or someone, alongside the visual image there are layers of memory, thoughts, questions or emotions that I associate with them, consciously or unconsciously. Some of these manifest visually in my mind’s eye, while others are an undercurrent of awareness that evades visible form. How do these elements make their way onto the canvas?

Recently I have been investigating how the application of paint can represent, or physically work through, some aspects of this conundrum. In some works the repetitive application and removal of layers of textured paint creates an unstable surface of residual stains, marks and scrapes, which inescapably hold the memory of what the canvas has held over time. Other works incorporate an element of chaos into the painting process – whether that is an excess of water or quick-drying plaster. The alchemy of paint and water on a surface can be unpredictable, just as a thought or memory can surface unexpectedly – but there is no escaping the knowledge that it came from somewhere within you.