Life Drawing, exploring the human form with charcoal, graphite, inks, pastels and paints, observing the different effects of different marks, this is how I started as an artist. But it was the act of painting which drew me most: the push and pull of paint, layering up, adding more paint, rubbing it off again, the effect of one colour upon another and how these affect the emotional impact of a painting. Light and space are very important. When figures are set outdoors, it can invoke a sense of freedom and enjoyment, or of quiet solitude. Setting the subjects in a smaller space - a shaded room, for instance - seems more intimate - a privileged glimpse into a private life. Either way, the viewer is invited to create their own narrative for the subject: Why is she sitting on her own? Is she waiting for someone? Is she hiding behind her sunglasses? What’s on her mind? What’s going on between these two? I like to make the viewer think.