I was painting at Trafalgar Square when suddenly a huge group of people on bikes sailed past with Palestinian flags mounted on the back. I didnt realise that there was a major protest going on at the time. It was a perfect subject to capture and seemed ironic from a historical perspective for them to be riding round the square with the monuments of empire surrounding them. I liked the idea of the juxtaposition of a pedestrian with her shopping bags against the protestors in my painting. Life in the a free city where people have completely different motivations and lifestyles. My painting is all about that freedom to express yourself.