#57: Sketching in Oil Pastel
Recently I’ve started experimenting with oil pastels as a sketching medium. They’ve allowed me to explore colour, gesture, and ideas much more quickly than my usual painting process. In this post I reflect on how this simple shift in materials is opening up new ways of thinking in the studio.
#56: Three Portraits, One Submission
After weeks in the studio refining and reworking three very different portraits, I’ve finally submitted my entry for Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year. Each piece represents a different aspect of my practice right now — from the expressive colour of What I was and what I’ve become, to the vertigo-inspired …and the world keeps on spinning, and a monochrome portrait of Olivia Colman that returns to the foundations of my work.
#54: Stabbing the Painting with Creativity
A week into adding colour to my black and white portrait, I’ve realised just how intense the push and pull can be. Every brushstroke feels like a risk — like I’m sacrificing detail in pursuit of something looser and more expressive. This post is about that uncomfortable middle stage, hitting a wall, stepping away, and coming back with fresh eyes.
#52: A New Year, a Wider Window
As I begin preparing my entry for Portrait Artist of the Year 2026, a small rule change has prompted a much bigger reflection. Being able to submit work from the last five years, rather than just one, has made me realise how much has quietly accumulated — and how far this journey has already taken me.
Creating art: In this economy?!
In a world driven by fast-paced consumerism and constant change, creating art can feel like a challenge. In this blog post, I explore how I navigate the pressures of today’s economy, focusing on authenticity, meaningful connections, and the value of creating art that truly matters.
The Resurgence of Figurative Art: Why the Human Form is Back in Focus
For a long time, contemporary art was dominated by abstraction—gestural marks, geometric minimalism, and colour fields that left everything open to interpretation. But now, something is shifting. Figurative art—art that represents the human form—is making a powerful comeback, and it’s impossible to ignore.
Dancing with Time: The Artist’s Most Elusive Medium
Time. It slips through fingers like water, resists capture, and mocks even the most careful plans. For artists, time is more than just a background hum — it’s an invisible collaborator, a constant tension, a onlooker breathing over the shoulder of every creative act. The artist’s process is not only about pencils, paint or clay. It’s also about wrestling with time itself.