Story behind the work: “Woman, Child, Cat”

‘Woman, child, cat’. 2021.

Oil on oil paper.

Over the last couple of years my approach to painting has changed a little. Rather than sketching and painting onto canvas straight away more than half of the time these days I will doodle in a sketch book and if a sketch has something of merit then I will develop it into a painting proper. Sometimes however I think my best work is when I do just start painting without any preconceptions as I did here with ‘Woman, child, cat.’

‘Woman, child, cat’ was painted at a time when my younger sisters had just given birth and when my painting days were accompanied with my kitten studio assistants Diego and Mahalia (I am very pleased to report that they still are my most lazy studio assistants and most loyal of art critics and hope they will be forever).

This work prompted one of my cousins to finally ask if I intend the figures I draw to look like me. If they do look like me it isn’t intentional but as the ideas and composition is coming from me it’ll make sense that the people and things I depict are something related to the vernacular of my own experience. Regardless I think our best work comes out when we’re in tune with ourselves and in flow state.

Process shots of painting ‘Woman, child, cat’

Oil on oil paper.