My drawings follow personal rules. They cannot be frilly, vague, or sentimental. I don’t want humour, overt emotion, demonstrations of skill, or signs of contemporary culture. When choosing subjects I think about the kind of marks I will make, tones, contrasts and abstract qualities. I don’t mind cliché, narrative or metaphor as long as there is ambiguity about whether they are actually intended. I look for imagery that has a quality of blank, ordinariness.

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As far as possible every part of each drawing, however large, should be readable when viewed alone. Every mark and element has to be there for a reason. If I draw a raindrop then I want to show its weight and flow. If I draw a fly I want to see its mechanics. My drawing process is one of precise, sustained looking but the final drawing can't be about just observation.

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Within boundaries I am far more interested in mark making. I like to explore with tiny variations the different ways you can depict the same thing. Each drawing takes weeks so inevitably there is an emotional journey that I want to see.

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I want to strip away everything seductive and unnecessary to leave something rich, contemplative and adult.