Acrylic on canvas, stretched and ready to hang.

Signed on the front.

There are no hard and fast ways to describe how I come up with my ideas for paintings. If you have spent time learning about the minds of musicians or any other creative people, you will realise that their ideas often come from borrowing other people’s ideas. Sometimes their ideas are original but this is rarely the case, and is probably the reason why we place so much emphasis on the geniuses and revolutionaries. When people like that come along, they tend to steer the world in a different direction, and create a status quo on which many an amateur or undisciplined practitioner may model their ideas. I must say, it is a tempting thing to do – when something works, roll with it and use it to your advantage. But I am also a big believer in staying true to what you think is beautiful, comforting or desirable.

For this painting – A Day at the Races I stayed true to what I find beautiful. It’s an artwork you wouldn’t normally associate with my style, but that’s exactly what I was going for. I was attempting to dabble with a graphical style that leaves something to the imagination. I also wanted to portray the things I find appealing – there’s a horse, albeit racing, but it’s muscles are rippling. Horses always keep a sense of graciousness about them. Even when they’re stressed they have a quiet calmness, with their confident posture and dark, liquid eyes. The jockey’s jersey glistens, and itself is a world of texture for the artist. Hours were spent rendering the strong white highlights contrasting with the subtle oranges. And those black spots add another dimension!

Then there’s the lovely ladies having a great time. With their stunning fascinators, radiant expressions and immaculate dress, it’s hard to think of something more pleasing to look at. I love the way the yellows pop against the lilac background. The dynamic between the young women and the men having a joke to their side seemed natural, so I added them in there. I’m not much of a race-goer myself, though if I were to attend, I would be one of the people watching to see how the environment creates interactions between people that you rarely see in day-to-day, banal living. As you’ll notice, the men have been painted without much detail. That’s how I wanted it – subtlety with space to breathe.