Where the notes come from

I only paint on notes that are out of circulation — demonetised, withdrawn, or simply too worn to spend. Collectors send them, travellers bring them back, and a few dealers now keep an envelope aside for me.

What I look for is not condition. A soft, handled note takes gouache far better than a crisp one, and the creases give me a structure to work against. A perfect note is, for my purposes, the least interesting kind.

Each country prints differently, and that decides the work. A yen note has room to breathe; a rupee is dense with pattern and asks you to argue with it. That is why the portfolio is arranged by country rather than by year.