Cities are full of contradictions; they are the best and the worst of us where vast wealth proudly sits alongside abject poverty. We can both live in the same city, but have a totally different relationship with it. That said certain designs, patterns and compositions can remind you of suburbia. This painting is typical of one of my cityscapes in that it doesn’t actually contain any paintings of buildings, although they are certainly suggested. The patterns used and the perspective gained through the use of colour hopefully put you in mind of high-rises, night time culture and urban decay. This is one of a few paintings I have done which look like a more typical depiction of a skyline. Often my compositions are more deconstructed. I called it Candytown because the pastel colours of the sky remind me of a packet of Lovehearts. It also feels at odds with the bottom of the painting which looks smoggy and grimy. To me the whole scene feels very fake and staged, I don’t think Candytown is the sugar sweet place it is pretending to be in this picture. It’s probably not even called Candytown.
