Artist's Statement

I feel an urgency when I paint, a desire to capture the moment before it disappears. I want them to say directly: this is us, this is the moment. This is how we are now. 
My work portrays women from the perspective of a female artist. I incorporate aspects of the established artistic canon into my portraits through poses and subject matter. I make use of modern props and costuming juxtaposed with hazy, dream-like backgrounds. The figures are situated in space that is in flux; it is not a solid world. Clues are weaved within the painting for the audience to decipher. The artistic tradition comes into tension with my own womanhood and female, uncompromising gaze.
The domestic space and the politics that surround it interest me. For example the negative fundamental link between domesticity and gender roles. The domestic setting can be a haven from the outside world, or a more sinister place, hidden from help. I consider domestic conflict and disharmony. 
My paintings are theatre, I experiment with the degree of narrative I present in my art, both twisting existing stories or creating my own. Working from photographs creates a certain distance between myself and the subject matter that helps me to work at my best. It gives me privacy and from that privacy comes freedom. This distance doesn’t make my work any less unflinching.