All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go, 2024

The Idea Behind the Painting 

Sometimes an old saying suddenly takes on a new meaning. During the lockdowns, the phrase "all dressed up and nowhere to go" seemed to capture how many people felt. Weddings were postponed, birthdays cancelled, theatres closed, churches became silent, and even meeting friends became impossible. 

As restrictions slowly lifted, people started to appear again, but the emotional effects remained. There was relief, alongside uncertainty, sadness and frustration. This painting grew out of those feelings. I wanted to create an image that acknowledged that common understanding while suggesting humour. 

Finding Humour in Difficult Times 

The couple stand together in their finest clothes, ready for an occasion that never arrives. The expressions on their faces are calm and composed, but the situation still feels awkward, something many of us can recognise. 

Although the painting depicts a difficult period, I didn't want it to feel heavy or despairing. Humour often helps us understand painful experiences more gently. If this painting makes someone smile while reminding them of what we all lived through, then it has achieved something worthwhile. 

Building Figures from Stone 

For many years, my work has been inspired by the islands of the Hebrides. The stony landscape has many abandoned buildings and walls scattered over the islands and built with the stone from the landscape and are reminders of generations who lived through hardship and change.

 These stones found their way into my paintings. Rather than creating figures from flesh alone, I build them from stone-like forms that suggest endurance, memory and steadfastness. They become symbols of people carrying the strain of their experiences while still standing through good times and bad. 

Symbols Within the Painting 

I enjoy telling stories through small symbolic details. 

The red rose worn by the gentleman speaks of love, warmth and hope—qualities that survived even during isolation. The tiny dew drops around it may suggest tears or periods of sadness, but they can also represent healing and renewal.

I never want to explain every symbol completely. Part of the pleasure of looking at a painting is discovering meanings that are personal to each viewer. 

Painting Process 

This work combines oil paint, beeswax and tempera emulsion. 

The tempera allows me to create the delicate network of fine lines that give the stone surfaces their cool grey appearance. Once those textures have developed, I work back into them with portraits, symbols and layers of colour. The process feels almost archaeological, as though I am unveiling concealed tales underneath the surface and bringing the stones to life so you can see the story they have to tell. 

Looking Beyond the Visible 

Although my work is figurative, I never simply paint a likeness. Even if I use a person to sit for a painting, I am always searching for something beneath the outward appearance—a person's inner life. 

Meditation and prayer continue to influence my work, encouraging stillness and contemplation. I hope my paintings urge viewers to take a moment and think about something deeper than the physical world.

Looking Back 

The lockdowns were an extraordinary chapter in all our lives. We experienced isolation, uncertainty and separation in ways few of us could have imagined. However, they also reminded us how much we value companionship, community and ordinary human bonds. 

‘All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go’ is my way of remembering that strange period. It is not intended as a political statement, but as a human one. The painting reflects the folly, sadness and fortitude of ordinary people waiting for life to begin again. 

If viewers recognise something of their own experience in this couple—or simply smile at the familiar saying that inspired the painting—then I feel it has achieved its purpose.