"Since graduating from art school, I have been primarily concerned with the painting of the human figure in a narrative context and the depiction of the human presence - that is the Portrait. This focus all stems from my devotion to the great figurative masters such as Velasquez and Rembrandt and my firm belief and personal quest to depict our own surrounding world of visual, sensory and emotional stimuli through paint on canvas.

"This painting was a culmination of a series of self-portraits I painted over the last year or so. They all differ perhaps from the 'normal' self-portrait genre in that they are all a bit quirky, casting myself in different theatrical, narrative scenes. I guess I'm just using the convenience and immediacy of myself and a mirror to further explore my tendency to portray the human figure in a quasi-narrative scene, This was not the first time I've painted myself wrapped in fur - the original version was a result of a portrait commission I undertook last year. The lady whom I painted wore this wonderful black fur for sittings. She would kindly leave it with me at the studio to work on when she wasn't there. One night I couldn't resist wrapping myself in it and doing a painting of it. I enjoyed the bold shape of the fur and the luxurious textures. After completing this initial self-portrait I then went on to paint a larger, grander version - this time sitting in the boat which was in my studio for some weeks as a prop for one of my other, larger figure compositions.

"The title Don't let go is a consciously dramatic title to highlight the romantic nature of the picture and also my firm hold on the rope - which I suppose is symbolic of my determination to hang onto certain things in my life, and the fear of letting go and thus drifting out into the wide, unknown seas."