My interest is in the process of painting, rather than the end result. Therefore I am by no means a fast painter. I am not a prolific painter either, partly because I have no idea what to do with all the finished canvasses. They collect dust under the bed. Every so often I create an image I am very happy with and this might get hung on the wall. Others may be overpainted at a later stage. I scratch and scrape away paint as much as I add it and with time the canvas gets covered with a thick layer of acrylic paint. A unique texture evolves. For the viewer it might look as if the paint is just slapped on but I think about each step. I am also led by the emerging features .

Today’s image is from 2010 when I explored the meaning of x. X is a very ambigious symbol. In English, signing a letter with two or three x’s means kisses. X also means the ‘unknown’ as in Mr X or ‘forbidden’ (don’t go there). Ambiguity is my other big subject. If you follow the Dedes you might have realised nothing is what it seems to be. One puppet says one thing and the other says the opposite. We all have our own realities. Once again, our own brain fills in the gaps and often tricks us into believing things that are non-existent. But I am digressing.

I can’t remember how long it took me to finish this very simple painting and a photograph certainly doesn’t do it justice. This one does hang on the wall and even after six years I still enjoy looking at the paint that is breaking open like a wound and the fraying edges of the x. So this painting is definitely safe from being worked on again.