I paint because I like the medium. I like the way paint, particularly oil paint, can be manipulated and the different ways it can be applied – thinly or thickly, the way it blends together or, if I prefer, I can apply one colour next to another leaving a hard, defined edge.
I like the way I can apply it, scrape it off again, re-apply. Sand it back and start all over again.
The numerous ways that paint can be applied is apparent when one looks at the numerous types of painting that have evolved over time.
I like the range of colours. The scope is tremendous. Some are transparent, some are opaque. I like the way the addition of one colour to another can change it completely. I like the way the eye is led around the canvas by the application of colour.
I prefer to paint on canvas. I like the feeling that the canvas almost responds to the pressure of the brush.
I like to stand back from the work and analyse what I’ve achieved.