A self-described "collector of lost souls,” the artist focuses on the figure as a story, building motifs through heavily condensed mark-making. The figures in his work are sympathetically drawn from equal parts caricature and realistic observation.   

Lovegates is constantly revising and adapting previous efforts, reintegrating them into current bodies of work that reflect the history of their making. His hand-carved wooden pieces bring his paintings to life as objects.   

The powerfully weathered people in his imagery are often real, captured through photographs and observations taken while on his travels over the years. Motivated by his own dreams and nightmares, Troy Lovegates’ works are emotive arrests of an awe-inspiring imagination.