The past year of work has focussed mainly around painting, my specialist area. However digital photography has been made use of along with continuous use of Adobe Photoshop. This relationship is close but often goes unnoticed. I have produced other work and paintings in addition to what is discussed here but the whole year including the dissertation has become one. Therefore the following piece of writing explains ideas behind what is my final year of work at university.

At the beginning of my third year I started to investigate a personal subject matter, the gym. This subject has been since explored in the form of super sized Photoreal/ Hyperreal paintings.

The choice of subject is personal to me and to an extent me only. I have photographed pieces of gym equipment which are extremely familiar items to me. I use these items everyday so they are a piece of my life and just as normal to me as any other traditional still life objects. The fact remains that these rather un-trendy pieces of steel are far from idyllic ideas of what is and isn’t beautiful. Perhaps a common theme in Photorealism is the portrayal of mundane everyday life. So there is no difference here. By making paintings about these objects that are many times increased in scale I can pack in many unseen beautiful reflections and abstracted bands of colour. The subject is no longer important, only to me. The subject becomes beautiful and we are enabled to see closer than anyone ever cares to. I turn a piece of steel into an arrangement of colourful abstract shapes.

Photorealism originates from the late 1960’s, and there are many artists associated with this movement, perhaps Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Ralph Goings are three common associates. Hyperrealism is however very different. While Photorealism is a direct copy of source material put into paint, Hyperrealism goes one step further. The two do overlap and converge. An example of an artist who is often categorized as being Hyperreal is Luciano Ventrone. Ventrone’s paintings go beyond this because they possess a belief in reality itself. One finds ones self uncontrollably believing that the subject is right there, present. More and more as the year has progressed I have aimed to paint not Photoreality, but Hyperreality.

I begin by making an image to base a painting on. The making of an image is not one single photograph, but is instead often made up of up to ten images. The common panorama is a series of images which can be joined together horizontally or vertically to create one continuous image. The idea behind this is that we can see more. While cityscapes and the like remain common panoramic subjects, it is not often seen done up close, so close in fact that the macro setting has to be used on the camera. This is exactly what I am doing when making an image. For example, I might take four images of my composition, each pivoted around a fixed point. I then have hopefully several images which will join up roughly. I join them up, see what I have got, and repeat the process sometimes 20 or 30 times until I have a selection of potential panoramas, which I can then narrow down to one to turn into a painting. What I gain from this long drawn out process is a spherical or cylindrical view of what I am trying to paint. This view makes parts of the composition seemingly closer and some further away, increasing Hyperreal potential.

I aim to put into my paintings a physical presence, a belief in what is before the viewer even though it cannot be physically possible. An idea in my head often turns into a spark which sets me preparing for my next composition. I use dramatic depth of field to emphasize this even further. At times I want objects to appear as though they have indeed broken through the plane of the canvas and are hovering in mid air.

I have introduced packaging into the compositions. The packaging has facts and figures which relate to my diet, the figures are adjusted sometimes accordingly.

The most recent painting introduces glass for the first time purely for its highly reflective properties. Objects are placed on glass which leaves an arrangement of intricate grey tones

As a set of works the series of paintings at present stands at nine all together. I have aimed to push my skills with each one as I have taken on a more difficult composition each time. The first painting took around 15 hours. Since that the time spent has crept up and now rests between 70-90 hours. I am sure the level of work will continue to rise though as I intend on painting something more complex next. I wanted the series of work to relate to itself so I kept constant the tonal grey backgrounds. Without often a simple shadow, the whole image was a float on this large grey plane. I am pleased with the continuity the work has had and am glad it has not been a strain at all. They have all been completed in Acrylics which I have airbrushed. Most importantly they have identity and can be instantly recognisable as paintings I have produced.

Hope this gives a little insight into what my work is about at present.



there are many people online both here and on my space that i would like to thank kindly even though i have not known you for long!.. i will however keep it brief so dont be offended if your not here. i thank you all...

firstly, i thank Simon. for being generally an inspiration, and for helping me find my way...

secondly Denis, just for helping me on here, being an inspiration not only to me but to everyone.

ps... my degree show is 12th june in barnsley... if any 1, particually you local people, are free that night, you are all welcome to come along should you wish... just send me a note etc i will give u details.