Buildings

Buildings are endlessly fascinating – the way their surfaces reflect or absorb light, the tiny variations in detailing of a window or a capital are what make the surface of a paining. The structural rules architects have to follow must hold true in a painting, or the viewer feels uneasy without knowing why. The shadows change as the sun shifts and I draw them in all at once at a time when they seem to help the composition. They must be accurate – the eye is a very good computer and you will know if they are wrong.

The paint can only be controlled to a certain extent. It must tell its own story. If it drips or runs I must attend to it, deciding whether to allow chance effects to stay or be removed. If it is controlled too much the picture will be mundane, but if it is too freely applied the result will be a mess. I work on the delicate balance of getting it just right.