This current body of paintings has been made working flat on canvas which I coat with a specially made primer to render it absorbent. The composition is then mapped out with charcoal and in the case of life-size canvases, is scaled up on the studio wall. The process of painting is subtractive using only hand-made lamp black pigment. After careful layering and drying over several days I painstakingly remove sections of the composition with water and a soft brush in order to expose and highlight areas which contrast against darker receding sections. Charcoal and paint become fused, lines and edges soften and limbs appear stronger and more sculptural, while remaining fluid and abstract.