My paintings are liz is very nice indeed never painted on a blank surface. They start out as rubbings of natural forms such as plants and rocks in which I seek out 'hidden' structures.  They are the result of speculation about pre-existing form and are the product of precise observation as much as of imagination. They are a blend of scientific thinking and wishful thinking.

I think of the finished works as suggestions - each is one possible representation among many, of the original forms from nature. My paintings reflect the tentative nature of knowledge

I love to explore this provisional quality of knowledge and like to retain uncertainty in my work. I attempt to fix that brief moment which occurs after observation and before translation; the fleeting moment between sense and thought which is pure speculation.

This is also a moment of tension: of both knowing and not knowing what is right in front of your eyes. I want all my paintings to be perfectly tense in this respect