A Study executed over a couple of hours this was a deliberate attempt to loosen up and deal with paint over and above representation. It was one of two studies painted in the same afternoon, this one being the more successful, not because it looked more like me, but because it came together as a three dimensional head, whilst being retaining the energy of the rapid, loaded brushstrokes. I find it very important to constantly adapt my approach , treating a particular painting in response to the demands of the subject, or simply as a means of breaking out of a set way of painting. Painters, I think, must live a little the life of sharks, they have to keep moving forward in order to progress.

Reflection,(self portrait)
24 x 33, oil on linen, Dec 1998

Private collection, Japan