Matthew Bourne derives his work from his passion for metaphysical concepts such as sight, sound, emotion and time. As a result, Bourne argues that his abstract paintings are timeless due to the emotive qualities and transcendental means of expression. Bourne’s work is abstracted because he spends time focusing on the process of painting, rather than solely the subject matter. He believes the process of painting is integral to its content and the quality of foremost importance. Not only focusing on the process, and trying to raise awareness in the viewer of the process, Bourne aims to set up a tension in his paintings between spontaneity and risk and a more measured controlled approach. Within this approach, the paintings include both a mix of abstracted and recognisable qualities. Bourne says, “I strive to create paintings that have the right balance in mood, light, texture, brushwork, placement, incident and structure. To flick, smudge, pour, spray, spread, scrape, rub, splat, squeeze, draw, scribble and dribble in order to create tough, uncompromising paintings which carry the weight of art history and relate to people on many levels. I strive for my paintings to feel timeless being both ancient and modern at the same time, creating an appreciation of the history and passing of time within the landscape.”