My work grows from hidden corners of ancient woodlands, concealed bends in rivers and ponds shadowed under tree canopies, places I love. I draw outside in nature, loosely and fast with watercolours and charcoal. I record colours, vegetation, and marks of seasonal change, sketching not to recreate a specific view but to record the small details, feel of damp soil, the movement of the wind, the forceful burst of new growth noting dates, season and weather. Time spent in the landscape is restorative and soul replenishing, the annual cycle of change takes us forward whilst connecting back to childhood times.
In the studio, I develop finished works by building up layers with a variety of medium and let the works evolve. I like to hunker down the eyeline, to compose paintings as being part of the earth, immersive in the undergrowth, protective under the canopy. The paintings become an expressive record of a seasonal time and place but with echoic and redolent links to formative experiences.
