Gabriel says that he paints with Hope and Despair – despair at what he sees happening in the world, and hope that the goodness of the human soul will prevail. He admits to being a worrier and trying to free himself from his negative world of thoughts though his art.

“History constantly repeats itself and it’s as though we are just not able to learn from it – sadly might and power in all their forms often fulfil an even greater need for more might and power, and this will always be at the expense of the poorest and less able. How much does one man need? Who is he proving himself to? Does this really bring fulfilment?”

Themes of loss, brutality, corruption and the many faces of human dilemma permeate much of Gabriel’s work, though it is not all doom and gloom – “I can be cheered by the little things in life whether a bird singing, a flower blooming, a kind word or deed. And above all, by family and friends.

In spite of the awfulness that exists in so many places and spheres, the truest love of kin and folk and the goodness of basic humanity constantly re-affirms itself”