I’m interested in people who take risks and go at life guns blazing. The characters who hardly ever show you what’s going on behind the mask, yet continue to drain every ounce out of life in their own very unique, robust way. Charging forward, providing the power to keep their human machine moving towards the glory.

Painting drives thoughts in my mind that wrap around the suggestion that the human race is obsessed with success, fame and fortune. This pattern is extremely exciting but only a few have the mental and physical platform to pull it off, therefore if someone is not well enough equipped they almost definitely take risks to achieve this goal. In some of my paintings the figure is achieving, striving and winning, but in many the lack of direction and increase in ego will lead to dire circumstances which inevitably lead to pain and suffering – something I see as beautiful when portrayed as a painting.

The constant tightrope these people walk is, in most cases, a walk into the unknown. I personally would hate to lead a risk-free life. I see my personal pursuit weighed down with pushing out so hard I’m bound to fail at some things but achieve hugely in others, because by taking risks, even when I fail, I learn. I often gravitate toward charismatic extroverts, when you look at my work you can see the figures toiling and scheming. My work is difficult for most to live with but I have the incredible satisfaction of speaking to collectors who thrive in this world of madness and personal gain – they can almost immediately begin to see themselves in the work.

So when you look “Behind The Mask” at my work and think about the world you live in, does it help galvanise confidence and drive you to succeed? Or are you on a plane so far away from me that all that is conjured up is fear?

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