Monochrome checking is a technique I adapted from photography many years ago, in which I photograph a painting in progress in black and white to then evaluate without the distraction of color. By stripping the image of color, I can clearly see the relationships between light and shadow, the strength of the composition, the level of contrasts, and if the focal point and composition is actually functioning. The absence of color also reveals textures, edge quality, spatial depth

I completed the last pieces of the series while my mother was still alive. The work incorporates lost abstract paintings and photographs, digitally layered and collaged. There was always a loose theme of loss and ashes. I even played with the title Paint, Ashes and Skin, but I held back from releasing it, afraid it would be misinterpreted as a series about eroticism. Then my mother passed away, and everything suddenly made sense. The series was about grief — grieving the loss

A lot of what creative types do is attention seeking. And we've learned that from God. A portrait always starts with perfection. I deface and deform it to make it look more like me. A sleepless night can be dreadful, but for the wrong artist never disappointing. Actually. Karma is a lesson. After the fire I could only mourn the loss of my work by making more art. Always do good. A lot of good comes from all the good that you do. An art teacher once told me "Show how human you