Clothes optional

I am a 44-year-old architect and artist and I will be presenting a collection of about 20 paintings at the Auberge d'Italie, Valletta, this month and next. These works were completed since my last show at Gallery G, Lija in 2005. Once again the predominant theme will be the female body.

With this corpus of paintings I continue to explore the contemporary female body, set against the changeable roles of men and women in present day society. Unlike more traditional nudes in which boundaries are clearly set and sex has its customary place in the scheme of things, in these works I address the question of what it means to be a sexual human being. As a consequence of this, my nudes tend to be highly charged images. My nudes are the result of a male's gaze on the female body. Through the painting process, the raw and informal body undergoes a transformation that is influenced by the sexual orientation of both artist and subject. My nudes are a celebration of the beauty and sensuality of modern women.

I rely on close observation of the subject and the expressive use of colour. Without question, my representations of people are a balance of physical form and feeling. I believe that the whole body reflects the inner being and close observation of the epidermis is one way of getting access to it. I believe that a good representation of a person, whether it is a portrait or a nude, is a search for quintessential truths. It is crucial that the artist focuses on the heart, mind, passion, and temperament of the individual - qualities which constitute the essence of his or her character. The myriad of colours that characterise my paintings reflect the colours of life. I give credit to my sitters, because they allow themselves to be thoroughly scrutinised; they subject themselves to my gaze, which in many ways goes beyond the skin.

I have exhibited extensively both locally and abroad. In 2003 I had a personal exhibition at the ex-Chiesa di Santa Marta, Piazza del Collegio Romano in Rome. My participation in collectives includes two international exhibitions, Aim for Arts (2000) and Painting on the Edge (2003), both held at the Federation Galleries of the Federation of Canadian Artists, Grenville Island, Vancouver, Canada.

I have a Master of Arts (Visual and Performing Arts) from Charles Sturt University. I have also studied at California State University and the University of Malta.

• Lawrence Buttigieg's exhibition opens at the Auberge d'Italie, Valletta on June 16 and runs until July 20.