Michael Cook

Some of the imagery in my paintings and drawings is an imaginative distillation of memories and sensations of the gardens, orchards, fields and lanes of my childhood in Derbyshire. This work has obvious links with British Neo-romanticism; wandering figures on long journeys, aspects of nature as metaphors for human joy and sorrow, animal and human figures expressive of mystery and spiritual longing. I also produce figurative pieces which seek to engage with theological narratives, texts and themes, using the human form to suggest interior contemplative states. My most recent works are small devotional pieces, often making use of found objects.