I Use mixed media and collage to explore the layers we build around ourselves — what we choose to bury. alter or expose and by our freedom to reinvent what is seen.

My paintings are built through layers of colour, texture and mark making. I begin with quiet ink washes and delicate details and build on top with bold patterns, fragments of paper and heavy thick paint.

Once these layers are established, I intervene. I scrape, sand and peel back areas of the painting, welcoming the reckless and unpredictable results of ripping into the surface. There is a real vulnerability to this excavation, I accept the risk of obliterating a beautiful flower or disrupting a perfectly sculpted face. instead of smoothing over these mistakes, I embrace them. In some pieces I paint the torn paper edges gold, drawing on the philosophy of Kintsugi, celebrating the scars and the vulnerability of the material.

Finally I might choose to soften everything further with more misty veils of colour until a sense of calm takes over.