Process

Rough under smooth.

Each piece goes through a deliberate process. The order matters, and it is the same every time — the surface is built before the image, and the colour is chosen after the story is known.

1. 01

   Texture first

   Every piece begins on a primed canvas that is deliberately textured before anything is drawn. The surface is built up rough, so that what comes next has something to sit against.

2. 02

   Smooth linework over rough ground

   Detailed, smooth linework goes down over that rough surface. The contrast is the point: roughness beneath smoothness, mirroring the story each piece tells — a composed face over an uncomposed history.

3. 03

   A colour theme chosen for the story

   Only then is the colour theme decided. It is chosen to serve the particular story and its reference, not applied as a house style — which is why the grounds shift from saturated orange to deep maroon to flat pink across the works.

4. 04

   Components chosen for the reference

   The visual components are selected the same way as the colour: for what they contribute to the story and its reference. Objects, patterns, and what a figure wears are picked to carry meaning rather than fill the frame.

See the works →