I aim to capture a moment from my past, or take inspiration from music or literature to create imaginary scenes, using characters that emerge during the painting automatically, until I find some resonance. I’m not a spiritual person, but within my ‘Painting World’, there is an afterlife – a supernatural world beyond this one or parallel to it. Spirits and angels interact with the living characters in my Painting World. Death happens but no-one is lost forever, because they can be reunited in the paintings. I only allow this belief within my paintings. I suppose it’s a place that it’s safe to live in fantasy.

An opportunity, to believe anything is possible and realise my dreams. My use of colour, texture and mark-making help me to create layers, that could be zones. If I want to indicate that a character is from another realm, or both ‘in and out’ of the Real and Painting world- I may use a paint that dries with a reflective surface. I also enjoy using fluorescents and metallic inks to achieve intensity and create the otherworldliness or an ‘extra’ quality that I’m looking for.