My paintings are hyperrealism oil paintings and my aim is to produce an artwork that takes you to a place that shakes you. I need the painting to be real and full of detail and drip with emotion. I know what to paint when I see it. When I saw this scene I knew I had to paint it.
I paint emotion, that does not mean I will therefore always paint people, there are other things that stir emotions and this scene stirred my emotions violently. My visit to Porar Char, a tiny and remote isolated island in Bangladesh opened my eyes to the suffering that was taking place on those islands due to the effects of climate change. This island was one of many islands that were vulnerable to floods and when a storm approached and floods arrived the whole island would need to evacuate. The evacuation included all the people and their animals and whatever possessions they could carry. They would then find another island and set up home. This process would be continuous.
I saw this cow alone on the beach. Silence was everywhere, the skies were turning grey, a storm was coming and it felt that every human, bird and animal were holding their breath. This silence was deafening. The cow was soon to be placed on a small wooden boat and transported away to the next island.
When I was back in my studio in the UK I started to plan the artwork. I wanted to create a painting whereby the silence was so roar and so deafening that anyone viewing the painting would have to cover their ears. I used heavy brushes for the background and delicately painted the cow using tiny one haired brushes as I wanted the detail to be the focus. My finished painting really tugged at my heart, it never stops every time I think of it.
