My portrait paintings explore the human presence through expression, posture, mass and atmosphere. Rather than pursuing a purely descriptive likeness, I am interested in capturing something of the character and emotional presence of the sitter. I use expressive brushwork, softened edges and carefully considered contrasts of colour and tone to give each portrait a quiet sense of depth and individuality. Faces, figures and surrounding spaces become part of the same painterly structure, allowing the portrait to exist somewhere between observation and interpretation.