I approached the AA2A scheme with the idea of investigating the ‘journey’ I undertake when making paintings. The process begins with creating a still-life or tableau, using fabric as a starting point. Then I use photography or video to capture the image, and then manipulate it in Photoshop, finally arriving at an image that will form the basis of a painting. Making the actual paintings has always been a very slow process, as they are very detailed and involve painting several layers. 

I spent a certain amount of my allocated college time experimenting with photography, using a digital SLR college camera. But mostly I used the college computer facilities, learning in more detail how to use Photoshop, and producing a large number of images, which I tried to think of as finished works in their own right. 

I expected to discover a satisfying way of making images that would be quicker to produce and would take the place of paintings. But in fact, the opposite has happened, and I find I am keener than ever to wield a paintbrush and get back to the riches of working directly with colour and oils. Although I love the manipulated photographic images that I have produced, they feel ‘distant’ and ‘fast’, as if they do not have the full stamp of my originality, whereas the single painting I did gave me the mental and emotional space that I seem to need. Therefore, I see my currently exhibited pieces as ‘work in progress’, and have christened the images ‘Interim’, as I fully intend to make them into paintings at a later stage.

It’s been great to work in the art college environment, using facilities I simply do not have at home, and mixing with like-minded people. I shall now return to my studio, the richer for the experience.