People ask ‘How do I begin’

Some days I have a strong feeling about something I want to express – a mood, a sense of space, an inner experience that needs outer expression. Other days I am lost – I look at books and Instagram of other artists’ work, see what is speaking to me that day. It may start as someone else’s approach but as I work it becomes my own. But often I just start with a mark I need to make, with no clue as to where it will lead me.

I have a regular spiritual practice called latihan. As a member of Subud I practice surrendering, allowing myself to receive guidance without trying to ‘get in the way’. Years of latihan have increased the power of this inner guidance in my daily life, and especially in my art work. It was there in the pots and the sculpture, and is now in the painting.

I work until I am comfortable with the result. If it speaks to me it may speak to others. I keep going back to it to look at it, and see what I have done. To learn.