Over various journeys to Europe between 1998 and 2001, I did a series of some four hundred sketches based purely on subject matter I thought looked interesting.

Ideas were open. It was my view that the material or ideas I collected in these works would eventually be pieced together in the form of paintings and other major works based in the studio (collages and major works on paper).

From figures, landscapes and urban street scenes to paintings, sculptures and other works on paper seen in museums to purely random abstract forms, I spent time gathering small snapshots, in various mediums, of anything that could possibly have been useful reference material at a later stage. I was collecting ideas - collecting a motif.

For Alan's full artist statement, please click here