Becoming intrigued by this new theme of absence, or past presence, I began a new series of shadow figures. Shadows felt to me like a remaining visual echo of someone once being there. I shifted from still life and the observation of form and object, to paintings of ‘something’ which physically does not exist. I started with a single shadow figure, ‘The Shadow Man’, his silhouette caught by the winter sunlight as it came through a window, onto the wall and bookshelf. Then came a series of paintings of couples together, in the light, as it fell across the settee. As well as being images about the physical presence of a couple just outside of the picture plane, their shadows also suggest a psychological scene and they act as a metaphor for a relationship. In paintings such as ‘The Relationship’, 'The Conversation Continues’ and ‘The Space Between Us', there is a question of what are we witnessing ? Are we party to a good moment, or a not so good moment? Are these figure shadows, on the sofa, happy or uncomfortable memories?