Beyond the Prize: Stories of Courage

How would you describe your work in the show?

The Artist’s Gaze - Self Portrait (2025) is a piece exploring self-examination, the pulling back of our everyday facades. Candid and raw, this truthful autobiography alludes to a personal story in all of its elements, from composition to style, holding a light up to and giving the viewer a unique glimpse of the artist.

For an artist, a self-portrait is more than just a technical exercise. It requires an artist to look at themselves. Examining who they are and how they are perceived. A direct, intense gaze engages the viewer, commanding their attention and drawing them in to examining the contrasting refined and bold mark-making employed throughout the piece and conveying a sense of introspection.

Please describe your working process. Has this changed over time?

My practice looks to explore the themes of identity, character and personality. These allow me to work in ways that look deeper into my subjects, beyond the obvious and the stereotypes, uncovering a candid, truthful and honest biography. Each piece shows the story of the subject, examining what creates a sense of identity beyond visual likeness, revealing the idiosyncrasies of a subject within the process and capturing the essence of identity, life and self.

The biggest change over time within my practice has been the stylistic way in which I paint. Originally, I was working towards a more realistic outcome heavily influenced by Old Masters with softer blended mark making. However, throughout my studies, particularly at university, I found myself developing a more intuitive approach with heavier, more evident mark making favouring texture. It is a style I have come to refer to as abstracted realism.

How has winning an award impacted you / your practice?

For me, winning 3rd prize in the Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award during the ROI Annual Exhibition 2023 has given me a huge boost to my confidence. Having my work exhibited in such a prestigious location and recognised for its own merits filled me with pride, encouraging me, intensifying my desire to pursue my craft, and pushing my painting techniques to evolve my practice further. This confidence and validation has encouraged me to continue working to realise my dream of being a professional artist and take any opportunity I can to get more of my work into galleries and seen by as many people as possible, as well as challenge myself to continue to enter open calls and competitions.

The exhibition opening is on World Art Day (15 April). What impact do you think art has on the world, now, and in the future?

For me, art has more than the obvious historical impact on the world in recording the past. It works as a reflection of the culture it is born of, intrinsically intertwined with the personal histories and experiences of the artists. There is an ethereal quality to the way we interact with art. Paintings, sculptures, prints; they all work to tell stories in ways that can conjure intense emotional responses and reactions.

There is an ever underestimated importance to art, one which I do not believe we can fully comprehend the value of, but without its presence, the world would surely be bleaker. Art has a way of speaking to people like nothing else - crossing language, age, nationality and so many more barriers. Anyone can connect in some way to art, a power that is intrinsically bound to its nature. I believe the ability to have such personal reactions to a piece of art, as well as the freedom of creation, lend themselves to why art of the past can remain relevant today and will remain and be connected to us far into the future.

How would you describe your work in the show?

My work in this exhibition is a life drawing. Drawing from the model is something I like to do as often as I possibly can, there really is nothing as ‘in the moment’ or Zen for me. Every second in the life room is precious, because every moment is ephemeral, irretrievable, unrepeatable, it all happens in the now. The light will always change, the pose will always shift, and the drawing will always be an approximation or reduction of all that observed complexity. My painting process tends to be very thought through, planned and composed, so it is the spontaneous freedom of drawing from the model, with no agenda or end goal in mind that is so appealing for me.

Please describe your working process. Has this changed over time?

I paint mainly in oil and my technique has evolved over time. I used to paint quite complex and slightly surreal still lifes, as well as allegorical and architecturally inspired works, now I am focused mainly on portraiture, although I like to bring elements of still life, allegory and sometimes a touch of surrealism into my portrait-based paintings. I am also experimenting with mixed media, I like the freedom and inventiveness it brings to my process, and the fact that I seem more comfortable and willing to allow elements of abstraction to creep into the work too.

How has winning an award impacted you / your practice?

Winning an award always feels like a validation or nod of approval, so that always bolsters you as an artist. I won the Smallwood Architects Prize at the RP Annual Exhibition 2024 for quite an experimental mixed media portrait of my father, which was particularly gratifying because it felt like a validation of new ideas I was trying out in the work. Ultimately it just encourages you to be braver as an artist, which is always a good thing.

The exhibition opening is on World Art Day (15 April). What impact do you think art has on the world, now, and in the future?

I think art has always been profoundly important to humankind, from the beginning of time. It has a power to move us in a way few other things can – except maybe love. It’s easy to forget in today’s world where everything is commodified that art has deep shamanistic and spiritual roots.

Art, in all its forms, allows us to access parts of our emotional world that often find no expression in our day to day lives. It does this by shining a light on aspects of our inner lives and psyche and by this process of inner illumination it makes us feel connected in some timeless way to the whole of humanity. This is why art moves us emotionally.

I think this is an incredibly important function, especially in a world that often encourages competition, fragmentation and isolation. When we stand in front of a work of art that has the power to speak to us, that conversation feels intimate and personal and at the same time universal. Art can re-connect us to what it means to be a sentient and spiritual being.

Please describe your working process. Has this changed over time?

My process is one of layers and tints leading to the final image.

After producing an accurate draft of the image, I then apply the base coats with as accurate a colour as possible. Invariably this will not be perfect, so then I apply thinner coats to tweak the positioning of detail and adjust colour until ‘it’s right’.

Sometimes this can be just a couple of coats, sometimes, many more! My record for a particularly difficult sunrise is 35 coats!

I’ve developed this technique over many years, but no painting is the same, so every piece will have a different route and different techniques to get to the end goal. The challenge is working out the best and quickest way to achieve the desired effect.

How has winning an award impacted you / your practice?

The award has given me a new confidence. The recognition that my work can stand alongside artists whose work I’ve admired, respected and looked up to for years is the biggest endorsement of my work and incredibly flattering.

The exhibition opening is on World Art Day (15 April). What impact do you think art has on the world, now, and in the future?

Art is a therapy - for the artist and viewer alike.

From the artist side - I get lost in my work as it needs total concentration. If anything is troubling you, it disappears when you’re painting and concentrating that intently, your mind has no time for anything else. And… if the work goes well - you get a natural high too - win win!

From the viewer's point of view - very similar. You want to take someone to a place that means something or evokes memories for them. This is indeed an escape for them too; and in today’s hectic times, we can all do with a little escape I think.