Although my work is figurative I use a process that is similar to abstract painting. I layer and remove paint. I experiment and take risks. I work fast then take a step back and reflect. This starts and stops over and again. The direction of the painting is led by the process and it takes on a life of its own. But I am there with it and sometimes I have to take control and be ruthless, making aesthetic decisions which may mean some characters may not survive or areas of the painting which have some nice qualities but do not benefit the painting as a whole are sacrificed. Under the final image there are other paintings that had to exist for the final version to be reached. They’ve contributed to the final version and you can get a sense hints of the past within the present. The painting has its own history like the characters within it.