Alex’s paintings were the precursor to his digital practice. Layering his paint layers to build up texture and shape, and experimenting with colours, these works are an important part of his development. Alex comments on how he misses the roughness and the sketchiness of non-digital mediums. Able to show process and human presence much easier than in digital renderings, Alex’s paintings were integral to making his practice what it is today. They also reflect on how limited art spaces and funds can impact on an artist’s output. Alex moved to digital because he simply didn’t have space to keep creating the scale of paintings he worked with. While not a medium entirely abandoned, pieces like this and their absence later on in archives reflect the way social circumstance intersects with art and art practice.