The collection of paintings for this exhibition ‘A Brief Encounter’ are, I feel, a natural progression of the work I have created in the past. Previously, my work was based on a meeting of two people, a chance meeting or an affair. Always set against a back drop of rain, these visuals were very important to me as they were significant to the tone and atmosphere of the composition. These new pieces are influenced by the British film director David Lean as I am hugely inspired by films and cinematography. I try to capture the director’s eye when creating my artwork which is just further enhanced with the use of rain. Rain can dramatically change the atmosphere of a film and I feel this to be true with my paintings too.

I have remained faithful to this concept in these new works and still try to emulate that ‘film noir’ feeling. However, as an artist I think you should always try and experiment in other areas and thus with this collection instead of simply using street scenes from New York I have created a variety of scenes from Paris, London and New York. I have entitled this collection ‘A Brief Encounter’ after the very British film of the same name directed by David Lean. It was a real challenge to paint in the footsteps of his director’s eye. I have seen the film many times before and always thought it was one of those classic romantic films, however, on reflection it has so much more. This is the response I wanted my work to have. I want people to be able to look at my paintings and interpret their own story to the composition. After seeing the film again I was compelled to paint. The new collection also has some different settings for compositions.