'I was brought up religious, until I rejected the idea of a god at the age of 12. But those stories are part of me. This painting has a bit of a desperate, end-of-days feel, like Noah and the ark, except there is no Noah and there are only flying creatures. At first I was just going to paint a flock of ibises, but then I thought it could still be real, and somehow in this series I want the images to just tip over that boundary into definitely not real. I imagine a rustle and flap of wings as they all rush frantically on in one direction. I photographed the boat at a harbour but I’ve simplified it, so that it’s more like a toy. There’s no person, just the empty boat cabin – it’s as if humans don’t exist anymore. No water, no setting – it is floating on a white void. It’s perhaps a bit frightening, or melancholy, but then the boat is so wonderfully red, and it’s hopefully satisfying to look at. 

Proverbs are not about new ideas. They are as old as the hills. For me, painting is not about trying to say something new. It’s about offering a platter of familiar treats, about entertaining, and maybe about tweaking at the heart. I am always so struck by how beauty has no principles. It will attach itself to anything. Beauty is the palliative, the sweetener – it allows me not to say anything much.'