For me, the act of painting starts by exploring my subconscious territory. Sifting through images (magazines, books or photos) I begin tearing, cutting, constructing and deconstructing images that I empathise with.

Sometimes I read, or look at the work of an Old Master to reflect on the repetitive universal themes that have been recycled throughout art history and our culture. Other times, I create mixed media works incorporating elements of photomontage. Working this way gives me the liberty to morph and slide ideas inside and against one another.

The birth of a painting begins as an unpredictable venture, just as the nature of life itself. When I begin to paint I am reminded that life is constantly moving, propelling me to discover through a process of realisation. Moody palettes assist in transporting the viewer, as shapes, figures, and objects shift within spaces of structured voids and form landscapes that are constructs of the mind. What intrigues me most about art is its ability to act as a vehicle for expressing existential ideas and the mutability of the human voice and with it not only gain insight into reality, but express those most dramatic elements of the human condition, those being the enduring themes of angst, guilt, hope, freedom and suffering in the form of hopelessness and despair.

I never make a work of art to please anyone else but myself. What I aim to do is to work directly from the well of my own existence so that I may challenge the viewer to consider their position in relation to things, making them think about the meaning or purpose of life. I create my work so that the viewer is challenged to think or respond emotionally to the subject matter, prompting them to feel surprised, disturbed or moved in some way. Creating work that sometimes appears 'outside the box' is a consequence of dealing with my own doubts, anxieties and fears, giving me a sense of comfort by gaining insight into reality, no matter how uncomfortable my world may be.