Every picture tells a story and painting people involved in activities and situations related to their daily lives always interested me.

I started to draw cartoons and caricatures while still at school (an activity that got me in trouble with some of my teachers) and I still enjoy doing them occasionally.

Portrait painting represent a special form of genre painting. More often than not portraits are commissioned and the challenge is to reach an acceptable solution/compromise between the self-image of the person who commissioned me and my concept of objectivity. This can be a bit difficult sometimes and I must admit that I prefer painting friends and family over commissioned portraits. More fun and less hassle…

The subjects of my non-portrait genre paintings are real people from my photo files, sketch books or pictures in the public domain of the internet. Whenever it is possible I ask for permission to use their images, and if that is not practical or possible I change the faces sufficiently to render them unrecognisable for those who know them. I feel free to place figures in situations or locations which suggest a story; to me this is what genre painting is all about.