THE STUDIO

ARTIST STATEMENT

My practice is rooted in a desire to connect with something timeless, the ancient human impulse to make marks, to express, to create meaning through image. Painting gives me that connection. It's immediate, physical, and endlessly open to reinvention.

Rather than depict the visible world, l'm compelled to create something entirely my own - a visual language born from instinct, emotion, and the unknown. Each painting is a discovery, a moment of clarity wrested from chaos. That moment, when something unexpected emerges and resonates, is what l live for in the studio.

Freedom both in life and in process is central to my work. I continually shift techniques and approaches to avoid predictability and to remain fully present in the act of painting. This keeps the work alive, fresh, and charged with energy.

My goal is to make paintings that have presence, work that is emotionally powerful, bold, and unrepeatable. Each piece is an original expression with its own voice. I don't make reproductions; I believe in the authenticity and integrity of the singular art object. For collectors and curators, this means acquiring something truly unique, with a vitality that endures.
IAN RAYER SMITH

I focus on raw human expression. I’m always looking for the subliminal aesthetic, which is a constant visual exploration. Importantly, I never seek to represent reality. I always look for something that feels unreal or, if it may feel vaguely familiar, it is actually unrecognisable.
- I don’t have any fixed process or technique. I’m always working in many different ways. It enables me to combine different techniques. I’ll leave myself open to discovering more. This...
- Painters have always borrowed from the past but should produce art for the era in which they live. For me, inspiration comes from so many different places and experiences. Over...
The Studio
THE STUDIO
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Colour and composition are actually rarely specifically deliberate choices. They evolve with the painting. I often work rapidly. Pausing to think for too long is often counter-productive, but I always need to walk away from a painting in order to let the idea gestate, and I then come back to it when it is (or I am) ready to reappraise, and if necessary leave it as it is or continue with it. I always say that a painting is never truly, safely finished until the point when it leaves my studio!
'If there's no unity in your work, then you've deliberately made yourself into that kind of person. You don't want that unity in your work. You've made some kind of satisfactory arrangement with your culture'.

Milton Resnick