People are infinitely various, but the less privileged tend to interest me the most. I guess because they surprise me more. I love being part of the crowd – my work is largely a celebration of the ‘everyday person’.
It can seem that nothing is worth doing unless it offers financial gain. Money is not inevitable or essential to our existence, and yet there are thousands of unfortunate individuals who sleep in gutters for want of it. I wonder why ‘we commoners’ allow it to happen.
I believe that art is a way of life, rather than simply a job, but that it’s important for an artist to live authentically, grounded in the everyday, mixing in the kind of circles they typically would if they had a conventional career. It is my experience that being honest and true to one’s background and environment brings something vital to the work.
No matter where my work takes me I will always live the same life, rooted in my landscape and community – because that’s who I am.
