“My father was a sign writer so I grew up surrounded by the smell of paint and turpentine. I have early memories of climbing ladders and scaffolding to help him work on rooftop signs or the paneled sides of heavy goods vehicles.  

Although I went on to study German and Philosophy at Oxford, it was probably inevitable that I would end up as a painter. My work is uncompromisingly figurative, but varied in stylistic treatment, content, and medium. No picture should turn out exactly as originally conceived. I am not in control of the process, nor would I want to be. It’s the journey that’s interesting and discoveries made along the way. I will change my technique or the colors on my palette if it starts to feel too familiar and comfortable. The materials and subject have a say in what becomes of them, and painting is always a form of negotiation or collaboration between us. 

I’m not so much interested in fleeting impressions as in their lasting effects, memories and echoes: everything we see is full of cultural and personal references, just as words are to a poet; and I want to tap into that—a ‘simple’ lamb or apple is abuzz with symbolism. But images must also ultimately have a life of their own, and make their own connection with the viewer without exegesis, independently of the artist.” — RH