I am a queer British painter, mixed media artist and former tattooer based in London. My work looks to explore and understand our deep connection with the natural world in an Urban environment. I create larger-than-life oil paintings of wildlife found in urban areas and cityscapes, where they are often overlooked and unappreciated, but essential to life. Having lived in city environments almost my entire life, I have always felt conflicted about the destruction of nature to fuel urbanisation, and have continually strived to find ways to not only remain connected to nature, but to illustrate the importance of this wildlife.

My process is shaped by an ongoing documentation of found wildlife. I continually photograph and sketch plants, flowers and wildlife I see thriving in an urban setting, window boxes and community planters outside of train stations or blocks of flats, to the trees and weeds that break through the paved pedestrianised shopping zones, and tropical shrubs in pots outside offices, and the wildlife that these plants support and sustain. Nature does not exist without the environment in which it lives, and like people, the way we view it is often defined by its surroundings, so I apply traditional landscape painting methods and processes, capturing elements of light pollution, the smog and dirt, artificial street lighting and - often neglected - concrete and synthetic surroundings.

Working on a few large-scale pieces at a time, I begin my works with a detailed underpainting to create a detailed and realistic foundation. My large-scale compositions, often imagined from multiple images, intentionally bring the plants to the foreground to highlight their overlooked value and beauty.

From here, I let the work evolve over a period of time through multiple layers of oil glazes, using minimal colours from the original scenes, and focusing on colour theory to create contrast and depth to reflect the environment.

My pieces communicate the urgent need to be more aware of the importance of nature, in particular in relation to the current climate crisis. By referencing traditional botanical drawings and taking influence from Frescos and contemporary mural painting, my work encourages viewers to contemplate where we sit in relation to the natural world, and how we might place value beyond the aesthetic.