Some paintings take much longer than others to find their resolution.
I began Swan Lake three years ago, and since then it has been through several transformations. Looking back at these photographs, you can see how I have explored different backgrounds, colours, light and reflections, sometimes making quite dramatic changes as I searched for the painting I knew was there.
The story behind the painting goes back much further.
For the past 17 years, I have been visiting the ponds at Alexander Palace with my grandchildren, ever since the eldest was in a pushchair. Watching the swans and their cygnets has become part of our family history, a place filled with memories of watching the children grow up.
What particularly interested me was the relationship between the two adult swans. The female bends protectively towards her cygnets, while the male faces outwards, staring directly at the viewer, assessing whether he needs to protect his family.
There is something wonderfully expressive about their contrasting gestures, the tenderness of one and the watchfulness of the other.
Over the three years I have returned to this painting again and again, changing the atmosphere around the family while trying to preserve that relationship at its centre.
As an artist, knowing when a painting is finished can be as difficult as knowing how to begin. Sometimes a painting needs to be put aside for months before you can see what it needs.
These photographs show just how much a painting can change while the original idea remains.
I would love to know which stage of Swan Lake you find most compelling.
