Public art and private abstraction… These are the two strands to my practice, one explores the outer experience, the other my inner experience. I paint abstracts in the studio and I paint large scale realism, researching local history for example. For years my focus has been in developing my freehand painting technique, looking to make things appear real. My abstract work is a more about personal expression. The two strands run parallel and serve to inform each other, in terms of colour theory and composition. I’m painting with spray paint but thinking like an oil painter, when it comes to tonal values, colour depth and warmth etc