Slipped Through the Net

My paintings and drawings investigate various themes pertaining to childhood, be it my own experience of childhood and parenthood or general observations of my own two children. I am interested in the evolving dynamics between them and me; their relationship with the environment, animals and the World in general (and all that it presents). Children can be strange but beautiful and also funny but melancholy. The presence of children in my work provides glimpses into imagination, fantasy; story telling and sometimes surrealism, Identity and gender definitions. Although recognisable faces often crop up in my work, I do not consider them portraits with the ‘characters' representing a universal portrayal of children/childhood. I often find that the paintings I make are very relatable to other people - so they almost become like shared memories or a shared lexicon of childhood.