Larger than life

Since the start of the year I’ve been pulling apart my own process, pushing at its edges and rebuilding it piece by piece while a larger body of work simmers quietly in the background. A few weeks ago I finally took on my first full‑body portrait on a 2.5‑metre canvas – a development far beyond the mini portraits I have been working on – and, despite my usual doubts, it ended up landing with far more strength and clarity than I expected.

Building the Image

This painting is a hybrid creation of screenprint and painting. I started with a series of digital sketches, stripping the figure down to its most essential shapes.

Once the composition clicked, I moved to the canvas — painting over an old POV piece I made five years ago that never earned its moment. After rolling out the background, I started blocking in colour until the figure began to breathe. I’m always chasing depth, even when the imagery leans flat and graphic.

Screenprinting came last. At 2.5 metres, it was a beast, so I roped in my mate Adam Bridgland. Thankfully the ink behaved perfectly, settling into the canvas like it had been waiting for this moment. We taped it back onto the wall and I carried on hand‑finishing it, pushing it until it felt alive.

What the Painting Means to Me

This was an experiment — a test to see if I could scale up from the mini portraits. Turns out I can.

I wanted a figure that felt iconic and anonymous at the same time – someone anyone could step into, while still hinting at the systems shaping us. The mask is the anchor: identity, power, projection. It’s an evolution of the themes in the mini portraits, the tension between hiding and revealing, between who we are and who we perform. I’ve used masks for years, but this time I wanted it to feel less like a disguise and more like a mirror.

My work usually leans into bold, vivid colour, but here I pulled in some muted tones to create a little bit of friction – visual optimism rubbing against a quiet unease. The brightness pulls you in; the undertow keeps you there.

I’m genuinely chuffed with how it turned out. But I’m not convinced it’s finished. Maybe it needs one more strike of something. Maybe it’s already exactly what it should be. For now, it’s living on the shelf while I move into the next wave of work.

Watch the making of video

Watch the full making of video below or click here to view it YouTube.  If you enjoy it, leave a comment or share it—your support genuinely helps us continue creating these moments.