At the beginning, there was paint....

I began as a starting point on the MA, with painting a guide that took me around south east Asia, Manny, he became a friend, and became very important to the whole traveling experience itself, he became the symbol for me of freedom, and of experience. I began painting him on linen canvas in the studio, with oil, painting from a photograph I took in Cambodia at Angkor Wat, I think the photograph captures him really well, and the background of the stone at Angkor is great against his skin.

It was important that the subject of my painting was of this person, he represents to me a moment or time, that is unforgettable. It was pointed out to me that you could not tell his ethnicity  through the paint, that although he is half Italian and half from Saint Lucia you could not see this. This worried me, and I include the photograph as a way of showing him, maybe the photograph should have been left as it is, and in this case, I have not translated what I wanted to through paint.