Process plays an important role in my work, from my large-scale fragmented paintings of the face, to my monochromatic circular formed works with more emphasis on pattern. Painting is transitory and ambiguous, changing from one open ended point to another. This is why I strive for an image that works in its purest state, that of its subject (the paint itself) working in conjunction with its vehicle, which in my case is the human face. I am interested in the dialectic between the abstract and the figurative and their perceived narrative. I believe painterly obstacles are important in my work, to direct the viewer (I hope) towards a dual appraisal of the image as a whole and its delineated fragments at closer scrutiny.
The models I use in my work are people I know intimately, as well as people I have met, and found images. There is no hierarchy in my work, every image is as authentic as the next.
m_sibley@hotmail.co.uk