My route into painting was not through an intention to create images, or to represent how I feel, or an illusive idea, but rather through exploration with materials. I created this series of works between 2011 - 2013. They are made with bitumen, coffee, ink emulsion and varnish on canvas, and they symbolise my introduction to working as a painter. I was interested in exploring the properties of unpredictable materials and how they could be manipulated to engineer chance happenings. I mixed emulsion into varnish and pushed it into pools of viscous bitumen to see what would happen The paintings capture a raw energy and a fluidity- a dialogue between myself and the materials, and a balance between chaos and control.