My work redefines still life for the 21st century. I find it a joyful process combining the tradition of oil painting with contemporary objects, signs and symbols. Nothing is more pleasing to me than painting bright Lego building blocks or Bose headphones, or mixing a lurid Barbie pink with the same pigments and techniques used by the old masters with a medium that traces back to 7th century AD- this is a beautiful and overtly human dichotomy and uniquely contemporary phenomenon.

Occasionally combining literal wording and semiotics into my work; a lighthearted play on the notion of advertising and an intended deep dive into what things really mean to us now. Our creative tools and nostalgic memorabilia. How a cup of coffee can represent everything from relaxing Sunday mornings to Monday morning stress, from brand morality to globalisation. My aim is to analyse and interact with a world and time where coffee shops sell merchandise socks, and where technology has completely reinvented what it means to be a human in the last 40 years. It tries to find authenticity and intention in all the noise.

I use painterly, impasto marks and work mostly alla prima, reserving glazing techniques for more nuanced moments of light and ageing. I use a saturated palette and incorporate high contrast and semi-abstracted shadows (I think an influence from all those classic horror and film noir films I grew up on, where extreme studio lighting would cast epically long and exaggerated shadows up stairwells and across walls.) My compositions use established techniques like baroque and sinister diagonals, golden ratio and thirds, whilst unapologetically focusing on one object.

We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with imagery and words, bus stop ads and hashtags, lyrics, texts, crumpled up love letters and book shop tote bags. We are always being sold something or being told we should be doing something different. If we live in a world of materialism, consumerism and consumption, my work implores people to have a greater relationship with the things around them, the things that remind us of childhood or represent our relationships, the things that bring us sorrow and joy. This isn't materialism. This is contemporary investigation and a quest for authenticity and intention in a world of 24/7 commotion. Take a beat. Switch off. Pour yourself a g&t and play a game of cards.