Inspiration
Jean-Michel Basquiat — I like almost everything but especially — In Italian, Nu Nile, The Dingoes That Park Their Brains With Their Gum, Per Capita, Untitled (Magic Worms) & Untitled (Ter Borch)
Willem De Kooning — I especially like the period 1957 — 1963 including Ruth’s Zowie, September Morn, Door To The River & Spike’s Folly II
Cy Twombly — The Coronation of Sesostris & The Four Seasons
Julian Schnabel — I really like Works On Paper & Palazzo Chupi. Basquiat (The movie)
Georg Baselitz - A focus on the 1980s - Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac London
Rose Wylie
John Fekner
Louise Bourgeois
Paul Klee
Mark Rothko
Gilbert & George
Joseph Beuys
William Blake
Andy Goldsworthy
Ibrahim Hussein
Wladyslaw Hasior
Billy Childish
Vincent Van Gogh
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Outsider art
Abstract Expressionism
Neo Expressionism
German Expressionism
Artist's Statement
I generally make dense, vibrant paintings and images on paper, wood, and canvas with mixed media (mainly acrylic and oil paint sticks). They often combine expressionistic, graphic, and romantic elements that may be considered ‘outsider’ in style. Some are simple in layout and some are busy and complex but all do have an air of the confessional; they are deeply personal.
My artwork is associative rather than direct. I gather and distil, reach into memory and grab from life with a curious eye, combining colour and text to make an oblique commentary on my life and its place in the scheme of things.
There are also things that concern me: what is outside, or inside, wealth and poverty, primitive and sophisticated, acceptance and rejection, justice and injustice, spiritual and material, the inner and outer experience and the real and imaginary.
Historical references, contemporary culture, social commentary, abstraction and figuration are also used to create visual mysteries, riddles and ambiguities. There is no clear narrative or position as I filter and sample on a daily basis. What you see is a kaleidoscope of feelings and observations. However raw the composition, I always strive to bring poetry and aesthetics to the mix.
