Created 2024
Original oil on canvas
60cm x 80cm
Before I start an artwork I visualise someone viewing the painting. I want that person to hook onto the artwork, to ask themselves questions and to never forget the work. I then aim to create a portrait in a realism style that screams.
I can only paint from my heart so I have to paint subjects that mean a lot to me. I need authenticity and emotion to drive the artwork and drag my paintbrush with it. Homelessness is a subject very close to my heart. It is an injustice that gets worse as the rich get richer.
It was a sunny day in the autumn of 2023 when I saw Mick sat on a wall outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Crowds of tourists filled the area mesmerised by the sites of London yet Mick was invisible to them. I knew that Mick was homeless because he was with a group of homeless people that I knew. I also knew that I had to paint him, I never know why a particular person appeals to me in this way. Mick had been on the streets of London for some years having moved down from Hull. As with so many homeless people that I meet he lived in the moment, he was full of joy, laughter and hope yet a little underneath there was trauma and fear. So many homeless people see the streets as an escape, they spend their childhood years surrounded by violence in a house that they should feel safe in, instead the house is a prison that they must escape from.
As I walked on after saying my good byes I looked back and saw Mick laughing and then playing his mouth organ. I felt so much admiration for Mick. He kept going.
I give everything to a painting. I owe that to the subject. Initially I prime the canvas in red and once dry I use large brushes to plan and outline the painting. Gradually over a period of time I add details using smaller and smaller brushes and finishing with brushes with just one hair for those tiny details. The aim is to create a portrait in a realism style that buzzes with emotion.
