Michael Brace

Artist Statement

My work has developed from things we see in our everyday lives. These things can vary from a large cityscape to a more intimate place such as a bus stop or phone box.

When I started to develop this body of work I intended to observe items that I felt represented modern British culture, such as a red bus or a red phone box. These images showed something that could be an intimate personal moment, which I then showed on a large open scale using large paintings.

My work has now changed to representing ‘big’ scenes such as city skylines or interior of stadiums during sporting events. These are large scale public areas and events that I am now painting on a smaller more personal scale, in an attempt to personalise these moments.

Within the pictures internal construction I use oil or acrylic paint, applied with a brush, stick or cardboard to give me solid, straight lines and definite angles. I like to represent light and reflection accurately within my work. I draw inspiration from places I have visited and places that have been shown to me, through films by artists such as Michael MANN, Seven SPEILBERG and Martin SCORSESE.