Paradise Lost - spray paint and oil on canvas 274x176cm
This piece was painted early in my experimental period. I wanted to reappropriate a figure from classical painting and force them into a world of chaos that references our modern surroundings.
The reference for the figure was taken from a painting by Giambattista Tiepolo painted in 1722 - The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew. I like the way his body has movement, like he’s been captured in mid flight.
Golden apples have been used a lot in mythology and I wanted to use it here to symbolise knowledge, innocence, nature and abundance, it’s being dropped here as the subject’s surroundings are throwing him into chaos.
I was aiming to depict something quite personal to me, a feeling of overwhelming forces that push and contort us towards a world of oblivion. I was at the time still in my very literal phase, and so the protagonist here is being blown up!
This was an important painting for me, the figure being violently thrown, his surroundings contorting and engulfing his body, and it’s classical aesthetic were all things I discovered are important to me. But from this piece I learnt that the literal, illustrative depiction of these things are hindering the feeling and emotion of what I set out to convey.
I’m still working with these ideas but I think I’ve found more effective ways to express them.
I’m currently in Kathmandu, Nepal and this morning I’m heading to the foothills of the Himalayas to meditate in silence for ten days without a phone or any other media and only a wooden table to sleep on! Forcing myself out of my comfort zone should throw up some interesting new ideas. Wish me luck ✌🏼
Goodbye London 👋🏼
After seven years living in London I decided I needed some new challenges. I’ve never lived anywhere for more than seven years so it felt like the right time to leave.
I learnt so much in London, I experimented a lot, in all areas of my life. I found a new direction for my work which I’m still nurturing, and not wanting to become stuck in a comfort zone I’m spending some time alone in new places.
I’m on my way to Bangladesh from Italy, and I’ll head further east from there. I’ll continue to share where my experiments have taken me over the last two years here as I understand them more.
I think travelling alone to unknown places and putting ourselves in difficult situations can force us to think differently and ultimately help us understand ourselves more. It’s always been something that has given me clarity.
✌🏼 #noitinerary #singleflightsonly
Dawn, after Michelangelo - oil and spray paint on canvas.
A small practice in technique. I had to keep reminding myself that’s what this is while I was painting it. The question of why? comes to me often now while I’m painting, or when I’m thinking about painting, and even when I’m thinking about thinking about painting
This was painted from a reference photo I took in Florence, Italy, of Dawn by Michelangelo. The statue is a representation of the dawn, and shows a young woman awakening from slumber.
Artists often look at their work upside down as a way to see it with fresh eyes. It’s easy to become too familiar with something to the point where it’s impossible to make any objective judgement on it. This was painted the same way up as the statue, but I think it’s much more effective this way.
I’ve been away experimenting with ideas, but much like this figure, I’m waking up to a new dawn, hi 👋🏼
Throughout this last year writing has become much more important to me. I write as much as I paint at the moment, it helps to clarify my thoughts and ideas behind my desire to create things. I believe understanding why I choose to paint is essential in feeling connected to the work I produce. This wall is a portrait of the quiet moment I currently exist in.
Thanks to Lewis for the invite to @spennymoormuralfestival and the trust to paint what I felt worked in the location, and everyone I met during my trip. Thanks a lot to @globalartsuppliesltd@smurfy1987 for the continued support with the best supplies @montanacans
It was an honour to be invited to contribute to the important work of @pangeaseed in collaboration with @montanacans through this latest print ‘Protect what you Love’. Through finger-drawn lines, viewers are urged to look beyond the message and uncover obscured images, creating a visual narrative that warns of the consequences of inaction.
The composition, inspired by the Vanitas style, provokes introspection as our morality is mirrored in a skull amidst retro discarded toys in the foreground, a Hirst sculpture and Darwinian sea creatures drawn in a book allude to the balance between memory, physicality, and the world beneath.
‘Protect What You Love’ is a reminder of the inevitable losses we face concerning both our material possessions and our collective heritage.
Prints are available now from @pangeaseed and funds from all print sales will directly support PangeaSeed’s international efforts to support ocean literacy.
‘Oblivion’ oil and acrylic on canvas 2024
This is the first new, finished painting I’m sharing here after taking a step back from posting my work for a year.
Through a year of daily writing, research and countless painting experiments, I am beginning to find ideas that I can’t put down. I’ve developed an interest in classical and religious stories, and how their intrinsic values relate to us today. Although the fast-paced overwhelming world that surrounds us can seem miles away from the world depicted in those historic stories, the concepts they teach are as relevant now as they’ve ever been.
This painting is the beginning in my exploration of the idea of oblivion and what it means to me. The drive for self destruction is something that has always intrigued and at times troubled me. I am now at a place where I understand it more, and I understand that it isn’t something exclusive to me, and is something people have spoken about for hundreds of years.
Depicting the figure in this way and the ambiguity of their circumstances are an intentional choice to portray the idea of a directionless confusion. Where, when and how are questions which can only be partially answered by details within the painting.
So pleased with the superb spot varnish layer on the latest print ‘In Love with the Idea of You’. Thanks to everyone for the support 🙏🏼 They are being shipped this week. Thanks also to the always incredible @bicep_press for doing such a great job. 💐
#voyder #printrelease
Available NOW - link in the bio- “In Love with the Idea of You,” a limited edition print exploring the boundaries between fantasy and reality, as we consider our own complex relationship with love, life, work and expectation.
Ironically, today is ‘Tell a Fairy Tale Day’ a celebration of the stories we share to make sense of the world and our own place within it. Artists have been driven by these tales for generations, from the Ancient Greeks through to the Pre-Raphaelites, they wrestle with love, loss and triumph in search of meaning. In our own way, we hope we contribute to the same.
“In Love with the Idea of You” is a still life painting featuring a bouquet of flowers, shrouded in an opaque filter. The finger line writing serves as a cautionary tale reminding us to focus on what is observable, rather than allowing our hopes to distort perception and emotions. This relatable pattern celebrates the nuance of our collective journey, as we each try to find our way.
Whether you’re in love with the idea of love, peace, your career or process...this is one for the romantics among you
‘Better luck next life’ #wip studio inspiration from the lyrical genius @ed_scissor
Collector exclusives via the mailout tomorrow, subscribe to the mailing list- link in bio
STUDIO ARCHIVE SALE
I’ve been a little quiet on here recently, choosing not to share what I’ve been working on as a way to gain some clarity in what I am doing and where I am trying to get to. This year I have dissected and interrogated my motivations in order to find what my purpose in creating art is. I’ve spent months studying and discussing art, love, connection, mythology, philosophy and life in general to inform and help me find my ‘why’.
Thank you so much to my dear friend @charlotte_pyatt for supporting me in this process, your time and help along this journey has been invaluable.
This has led me to consider everything I have made, and experiment with new ways of thinking and creating. I am now developing something unlike anything I’ve produced before.
I am releasing some original works from my personal archive directly to the mailing list. These are predominantly original oil and spray paint pieces, some experimental works, and a very limited number of prints from the last few runs.
I will send out a pdf of available works to my mailing list on Monday 27th November at 4pm GMT, the available prints will be added to the store on my website at the same time.
If you would like to be included please sign up to my mailing list, link is in the bio. ✌🏼
