This selection of paintings is from once-a-week sessions in my studio over many years. Although they are difficult to exhibit with my main paintings, they have always been of great use to me in forming ideas and in the experimentation of technique, colour and form that comes from a closer relation to the natural world. By this I mean that it opens up new possibilities for my work by highlighting other ways to achieve results rather than relying solely on imagination alone, and thereby hopefully never getting stuck in a stylistic cul-de-sac. All figure paintings, unless otherwise stated, are oil on canvas and are roughly 40 x 30 cm.