I use my canvas as a space to draw and paint the shapes I like, the things that are: People-Shaped. I want my viewers to see the human form, to really look at it. To see how it moves, how it transforms, how it interacts with other human forms.

Through this body of work, I strive to capture the figure in motion. I describe something energised and free in something static and limited. Why film a moving person over numerous frames when you could capture each motion in one still frame? Where's the fun in that?

I draw attention to the body as a vessel for energy. It is dynamic, it is powerful, it is intelligent.

I use colour theory to assist my colour choices. I select contrasting colours that emphasise each other to bring vibrance to my pieces. To make them animated and loud, reflecting the spirit of the human body. I also use layering as a significant part of my practice to describe the history of the figure’s movement. Repeated and layered line work of varying speeds and precision capture previous or potential movements, painting a fuller picture of what has been and what might come next. Furthermore, by flipping or reorienting my canvas I let go of the previous studies and rework them into something unexpected while maintaining a semblance of what once was. The combination of these techniques inform my ability to record the movement of the human body for the viewer.

Throughout this project, I struggled to find a rhyme or reason for why I want to paint things that are People-Shaped. For a while, I wrestled with motivations that were ‘good enough’, but eventually I found immense value in appreciating the simplicity of painting for the sake of painting.