When deciding what to research of the people of Salford I wanted to stay hyper local to the museum, so I chose Pendleton shopping Centre. A small but busy shopping centre ten minutes walk from the museum.

This work was made while contemplating on the work of the cleaners that I had been watching working. I based it on a painting I had seen in the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge, to where I had escaped from a very dry conference on the philosophy of aesthetics the month prior. I had been wondering around the Fitzwilliam, without aim, as I tend to do, and suddenly floated into a room of extraordinary beauty, subtle golds and reds on icons filled the walls of the gallery.

I thought of that room as I pictured the cleaners and three slightly bored people getting in their way and wondered how I could depict their lives.

The three loiterers had been wearing nightwear or clothing that indicated sofas, slippers, cups of tea, maybe biscuits and cakes, too bored that day to bother getting dressed for it, or perhaps they just had the good sense to be comfortable as they sat.

The cleaners were very interesting to me for other reasons. During my research around Britain, if I want to find out what may be happening in any given place, I will ask the cleaners or receptionists. Invariably, they are quietly working away, their views not of interest to the people that are in charge, full of observations and knowledge. The precinct was no different. As is often the case when I work, people getting on with their lives and work, without fanfare, usually have a good insight in to how things work.

In late 2022, I exhibited Hung Out to Dry Over the Tay at Tatha Gallery in Newport-on-Tay, Scotland. This solo exhibition came after winning the Tatha Gallery Prize at the SSA exhibition in The Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. The show brought together a series of figurative artworks, mainly single and group portraits of people and their dogs, inspired by the landscapes and people of Dundee. As with all my narrative portrait work, the series combines close observation with metaphor to reflect on everyday life.

Inspiration from Dundee
Dundee was a vibrant Scottish city with a mixture of different people from all walks of life. I was drawn to the area’s layered histories, quiet streets, and conversations overheard in small cafés. These moments became the seeds for artworks that explore the social fabric of the region. As with my previous projects, including Narratives of Britain, the work is both documentary and dream like, perhaps a little surreal.

Process and Technique
Each piece in Hung Out to Dry Over the Tay began with on-location sketches, quickly capturing atmosphere before the scene shifted. Back in the studio, I developed these sketches and pphotos into paintings or larger drawings. This process allows me to balance realism with symbolic detail a brush mark or a line can suggest both an individual’s mood and the larger cultural moment they inhabit.

Viewers at the Tatha Gallery often recognised echoes of their own lives in these images, which is always deeply rewarding for me.

Connecting the Series to My Practice
This exhibition builds on my ongoing exploration of figurative narrative art — portraits that capture not just a likeness, but the story of a place and time. From my residency at the House of Illustration to paintings like Dress Code, my work seeks to chart the social histories we live every day, often unnoticed.

See the Exhibition and Get in TouchYou can explore selected works from Hung Out to Dry Over the Tay on the Tatha Gallery exhibition page.

To learn more about my artistic process or to discuss a potential portrait, please contact me directly.