I am a Contemporary Symbolist painter, working primarily in acrylic and oil.

I have aphantasia, the inability to form mental images in the mind's eye. For me, painting has become a gateway to the subconscious and a way of accessing memory, emotion and imagery that I cannot consciously summon. I paint scenes that seem to emerge from somewhere deep within me. Their origins are often unknown, yet they continually draw me towards deeper explorations of spirituality, psychology, the Eternal Spirit and mortality.

Of Irish and Scottish descent, I was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and have lived and worked in England, Kenya and the Outer Hebrides. I currently divide my time between Newark-on-Trent and Berwick-upon-Tweed. These varied landscapes and experiences have undoubtedly informed my art.

I have long been drawn to the landscapes of Joan Eardley, David Bomberg and J.M.W. Turner, particularly their expressive mark-making, distinctive use of colour and powerful handling of light and perception. Among my favourite figurative artists are Nathan Oliveira and Tracey Emin, whose approaches to the human condition and emotional expression continue to resonate with me.

My process begins with decalcomania, a technique associated with Surrealism, in which paint is pressed between two surfaces to create unpredictable patterns and textures. I respond to these random formations through pareidolia, the instinctive recognition of familiar imagery within abstract or accidental forms. From these initial marks, images begin to reveal themselves, and I paint both with and towards what emerges on the canvas or paper.

Each work becomes an act of discovery, an often nervous revelation in which I follow rather than dictate the direction of the painting. I rarely know what I am going to find. Once a painting is finished, I often find myself researching the things I've painted, sometimes discovering connections or meanings I could never have consciously intended. I find this endlessly fascinating. In a sense, I am still learning what my own paintings are trying to tell me.