Painting

The landscape we live in is breath taking and I am compelled to capture it, to study it and develop my dialogue with it. Nature is far more powerful than us, time is unstoppable, not in terms of hands on a clock but moon cycles and sun revolutions and the relentless tide.

When I paint I cast my imagination back to the rawness of the elements and purity of the land. I think about the ancientness of it all and what it was like before we arrived and built on it, what impact our human imprint has. My mood sometimes matches the elements, and sometimes the elements sway my mood. A brooding stormy sky full of high contrasts with winds that flow over and around the land and myself, or blissful drifting pinks, blues and soft greys and a light that warms the heart and soul as it strengthens it's warmth in the air. I meditate on these ideas as I paint either en plein air or at home in my studio.

I am enthralled by openness and large scale vistas over land and ocean, as are many of us, transfixed by the disappearing horizons. Every day witnessing the world, the seasons and passage of time. My human sized place within all of this seems to be to respond in some way which might translate how I feel about it and how this might connect with others.

Working with acrylics, inks and mixed media I explore intuitively through my materials. The process is important to me, the physicality of mark making, the layering up of paint, all as a meditation on my experiences of the elements.

My work is often abstract as I revisit the original experience and that becomes an emotional and physical response. Perhaps something akin to the Barbara Hepworth quote "I rarely draw what I see, I draw what I feel in my body"

Truly being in a place is to be in a sort of meditation state. Looking so deeply and mindfully, I notice more and more, listening and shifting awareness, sinking into the body of the land. It is also about shifting awareness to share and emphasise our appreciation for what we have and where we are and hopefully how to treat it with respect.

This is a small retrospective selection of paintings from the last few years.

2024