I want my art to have a deeply personal and heartfelt appearance to it, but at the same time the idea of total honesty scares me. I have never found the confidence necessary to tell someone I love him. It is with this fear of revelation and rejection that I encode my words and images.

I hide my true feelings within borrowed lyrics and enigmatic segments of sentences from my diaries. Rather than clearly printing out my thoughts in bold text, I prefer to subtly scratch out discreet messages onto my paintings – both lyrics and my own quoted words gently hinting at my feelings for the people closest to me. I find the juxtaposition of quoting others and myself, both talking about similar subjects in a very similar way, very intriguing. I want to create an ambiguous and confusing narrative; the viewer will look upon my thoughts and the words of songs, not being able to distinguish the two.

Within my abstract painted surfaces of layered, fractured colours and textures I discreetly place small subtle creatures and ghostly self portraits, hidden amongst brushstrokes and paint splashes. The animals are mainly depictions of my childhood ornaments, each one representing a different person who is of significance to me. This layering of paint, varnish and images creates multifaceted paintings which emulate the complicated and often confused, emotional relationship I have with my surroundings, family and friends.

By looking at those who are close to me and the relationships we have I hope to create a more rounded and intimate self portrait than just a simple reflection in a mirror. Using this combination of delicate abstract paintings and simple text pieces, I hope to connect with viewers – sharing with them my insecurities and dreams. I hope my work conveys a sensitive and subtle insight into my most honest thoughts.