I believe that a passion for narrative and subject is an essential pre-requisite for a successful painting. If the artist feels ambivalent about whatever is captured in a photograph, a sketchbook or on canvas how can they hope to have any impact on those who see the final piece? Without authority the artist will leave his audience frustrated or worse, indifferent. Communicating mood & emotion are my most important motivators for making images. I’ve never been overly concerned with technical perfection or producing an accurate pictorial record of a subject or a location. For me the heart of painting and photography is to capture and communicate an atmosphere and what I’m feeling, as much (if not more) than what I see at the time of painting. If my paintings, sketches and photography speak to the viewer on an emotional level then I have succeeded in my work.
