Darling Portrait Prize 2022 Finalist
Late one night in the studio I caught my reflection in the glass door. The overhead lighting exaggerated the shadows and highlights dramatising a moment of self-doubt; the studio became theatre. It reminded me of the remark John Cage made to Phillip Guston: 'When you start working everybody is in your studio – the past, your friends, your enemies, the art world, and above all your ideas – all are there. But as you continue painting they start leaving one by one, and you are left completely alone. Then, if you are lucky, even you leave.'