HELLO TOM, WELCOME TO THE 4BYSIX FAMILY AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COLLABORATE ON  OUR INITIATIVE, VEHICLES FOR CHANGE AND FOR CHATTING TO US ABOUT YOUR ART PRACTICE.  FOR SOME CONTEXT, YOU MOVED FROM FINE ART TRAINING INTO HANDS-ON CREATIVE WORK LIKE CHEFFING,  TRAVELLING AND CURRENTLY RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BARBERING BUSINESS IN MANCHESTER AND  STOCKPORT.  

TO BEGIN, IT IS EVIDENT THAT YOUR PATH INTO PAINTING HASN’T BEEN LINEAR. LOOKING BACK, HOW DO  YOU THINK THOSE EXPERIENCES OUTSIDE OF TRADITIONAL PAINTING SHAPE THE WAY YOU APPROACH YOUR  ART TODAY?  

I made the leap to abstraction as a way to make paintings feel more enjoyable, rather than  portraiture that I had been painting prior which began to feel like home work. For me doing  away with subject feels more honest, less cluttered and gives me a space to ‘let go’ as it  were. It’s true painting, exploring the action, medium without bounds and really allowing  things to flow.  

Life is so constructed, organised and generally busy, my Art serves me as an escape, a  sensation without rules or premeditated outcomes. This is something I need in my day.  

HOW HAS THAT PROCESS EVOLVED FROM THOSE EARLY ABSTRACT WORKS YOU DESCRIBED AS “HAVING NO  STRUCTURE” TO THE MORE CONFIDENT PRACTICE YOU HAVE TODAY?  

Yes, the work perhaps took it’s first shape in the form of busy, energetic explosions it would  seem with excitement at its core.  

The paintings today are more mastered, deeper and versatile in their mood. Each is almost  closer to a diary of my own emotions, a reflection as it were, rather than a statement made  purely for immediate impact. (Prior)  

YOU RECENTLY MADE A PAINTING FOR 4BYSIX ON A PIECE OF REPURPOSED LORRY TARPAULIN AS PART OF  OUR CURRENT VEHICLES FOR CHANGE INITIATIVE. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE PIECE YOU HAVE  MADE FOR US?  

I saw the project and really enjoyed the thought of applying my imagery on such surfaces as  the whole ‘unused’ materials really resonated with me. I have become rather interested in  eroded surfaces within my work and they are something I study in daily life. Perhaps it was  the thought of ‘neglected’ materials I also enjoyed and how the surface is also a vehicle too,  one that hosts a visual or value as it were, but just as easily can be overlooked/discarded.  

Having said this I immediately thought to create a palette that would suggest erosion,  destruction and a sensation of burning/changing in state. 

‘Embers’ works with the textured side of the surface, to exaggerate the perceived flaws  compared to the conventional canvas surface. Its appearance articulates a life cycle, a  movement in state through industrial tones, textures and colour intensities.  

AS YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED THAT “VISUAL IDEALS ARE ECHOED AROUND [YOU] IN THE WAY  [YOUR] HOME LOOKS, THE CLOTHES [YOU] WEAR AND ALL OTHER FORMS [YOU ARE] INVOLVED IN, AS IT IS ALL  ONE VISION”. CAN YOU TELL US IF THERE WERE ANY SPECIFIC “VISUAL IDEALS” THAT INSPIRED THE WORK  YOU HAVE MADE FOR US ON THE TARPAULIN?  

Yes, as I work in a free, authentic and quite responsive way, it would seem everything that I  paint, conceive and like has the same instinctive taste, look or feel. That is one that I feel I  have become closer to understanding as I become more and more aware of it.  

My work/style expresses a fascination with structure, geometry and dynamic form(s)  accumulated with a variety of moods/colours and contrast. I feel it's a reflection of who I am,  an ambivert, organised yet manic at times, I am a person who is loud yet quiet and sensitive  also, the work is part of me.  

YOU’VE SAID YOUR PAINTINGS TRANSFORM EVERYDAY VISUAL EXPERIENCES, SURFACES, AND  ARCHITECTURAL FORMS INTO NEW DYNAMIC COMPOSITIONS. FOR YOUR NEW WORK WITH 4BYSIX, WERE  THERE ANY SPECIFIC PIECES OF LOCAL ARCHITECTURE OR URBAN ENVIRONMENTS THAT DIRECTLY INFLUENCED  OR SHAPED THE DIRECTION OF THE WORK?  

I’m particularly interested in Stockport at the moment and have been working outdoors  recently painting larger works there. I’m surrounded by brutalism, change, old, new and a  diversity in construct whichever way you look. I would say this is the one place that is  injecting my soul with influence at the moment, or certainly reinforcing my silhouette choices.  

GIVEN THAT YOU LIVE AND WORK IN MANCHESTER AND THAT 4BYSIX ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH LOCAL  CHARITY MUSTARD TREE THROUGH CREATIVE WORKSHOPS AND PROVIDING CLOTHING, CAN YOU TELL US YOUR  THOUGHTS ON USING ART AS A CHANNEL OF PROMOTING POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE?  

Art is an incredible pastime as well as it being a powerful message and anchor for both  artists and the general public to return back to self, have fun and can be a great community  builder. I agree that it can be pushed to unify people at any time.  

HOW DO YOU APPROACH YOUR SELECTION OF COLOUR IN YOUR PAINTINGS TODAY? ARE YOUR CHOICES  INTUITIVE AND TIED TO MOOD AND MEMORY, OR DO YOU CONSCIOUSLY BUILD PALETTES AROUND SPECIFIC  IDEAS OR THE SENSE OF CONTRAST YOU OFTEN TALK ABOUT?  

Very much so, they are tied to mood, I run with the piece as it feels much more like it is  pulling me into the layers, I simply feel as if I am nurturing it and it has a plan of its own!  

That day in the studio when I start a painting I decide then and mix colours on the canvas,  allowing for accidents to happen, wrong turns and right turns. 

LASTLY, HOW IS LIFE AT THE MOMENT? HOW ARE YOU FINDING THE BALANCE BETWEEN YOUR DAY-TO-DAY  BUSINESS AND CREATING NEW ARTWORKS?  

It’s something I always struggle with but being in business and painting is great, it creates  more need for my Art and also allows me to keep making no matter what. Both are creative, which is so important. I tend to spend 2-3 days in the studio always so it is great, we need time  away from the work to allow inspiration to build.