This month I released a new collection of sketchbook pages with Partnership Editions. My paintings always begin in a sketchbook and so these pages feel to me like little paintings waiting for their time to become big.

I’ve been thinking of monumental, introspective figures resting in domestic settings, preparing food at kitchen tables or sitting in the afterglow of meals. I like to use solid symbolic objects to hint what the figures might be thinking…

Here is how the initial study of my Sleeping Rock moved from my sketchbook to my studio wall.

First I translate the sketch into s full scale drawing using black pigment pencils and a lot of sharpening

What is your favourite way to eat potatoes? Roasted. That said, I really love all potatoes - sautéed which my grandma taught me to make or baked with plenty of olive oil and salt rubbed over, sliced lengthways and served with an enormous amount of butter, cheddar and beans.

What do you cook when you’re sick?  Ideally it would be chicken soup with matzo balls but failing that Heinz tomato soup with buttery toasted pitta bread.

What is studio lunch? Jambon-buerre, or when working from home it’s rice and a fried egg with soy sauce, chilli sauce and spring onions.