ARTIST STATEMENTI found myself a portrait painter by accident in my final year at Art College when I realised I could achieve an accurate likeness of whoever I drew or painted without paying it a great deal of attention. I have also been enjoying the resurgence in popularity of figurative art across the world; there is endless inspiration to be found in the human figure and no shortage of subject matter in our daily lives. I love to paint the nude; the fluidity of flesh in all its forms and have found some great inspiration in the burlesque/cabaret scene. Beautifully posed bodies with stunning costumes and lots of sparkle! I continue to paint portraits as well, including boudoir and nude, but now I have a greater variety of work to show, all still telling some story or other, and what that story is very much depends on what you, the viewer, sees. I am fascinated by the human figure and particularly the face. I love the different visual effects of light on form.I believe art should be available to all and am trying particularly to dispel the myth that real art, and a portrait in particular, is hugely expensive or that you have to sit in a draughty artist’s studio for months on end. I’d like to feel that there is a place for my paintings in any environment.CAREER PATHI graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1992 with a BA (Hons) in Illustration and painting. I was exhibited in the 1993 BP Portrait Award at the NPG in London, and have been exhibiting and selling my work across the country since graduating. I moved my family to Adelaide in 2013 where I continue to show new work on various platforms and work on commissioned portraits.