Before the 2020 lockdown I was being challenged by my fabulous mentor Dean Mellbourne. He helped me to paint into some deep feelings and memories about my childhood and this series began to flow.

 

With visits to the National Gallery and studying "The Book of Symbols" I had started an intense investigation of oil paint techniques and absorbed influences of symbolism in Dutch still life by painters such as Abraham van Beijeren, Christoffel van den Berghe and Vermeer, and interiors with women by the late 1800’s Danish painters Vilhelm Hammashoi and Peter Ilstead.​

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I hope the dark tone of most the paintings leave unanswered questions. A lack of linkage between the subjects and a disconnection with the titles is satisfying.

 

The story cannot be clear because the story is about secrets.