Often the paintings that move me the most were painted hundreds of years ago. Nowadays we have tools that the old masters could not even have dreamt. I mean digital cameras, computers, new types of paint - better and brighter colours. So part of me thinks we should make better paintings than them, but I don't think we do!

In my work I combine modern methods and old techniques too. I use computers to help me visualise my work. On the other hand I layer paint in a way not much practised since the 1880's. Broadly speaking this means thinking of a painting as a series of layers. building up transparent or semi transparent colours over each other to work towards the tones you want, or to create rich and subtle paint effects. It is a time consuming process but can achieves the most subtle results. My paintings do take time to complete.

More recently I have started using acrylics more in the under painting. These paints are easily applied in flat areas and are cool and bright. Over this I am using transparent oil paint for its warm glow and soft transitions. This can produce a result which is both modern and medieval at the same time.