My main interest is in landscape. Though aware of the tradition of landscape painting, I want to extend it in a way that acknowledges our contemporary environment in all its diversity; capturing the natural, the human-made and the points inbetween through the sensuous experience, energy and spontaneity of paint and colour in motion.
Often I like to combine representational and abstract approaches in the same piece, to capture different aspects of a place. The more traditional, representational part can reflect the visual memory, while the more abstract element can convey the atmosphere, weather, textures, and my excitement at being there. One aim of these “composites” is to bring out new resonances in the subject matter.
In art, there is nothing to stop you having your cake and eating it.
I also like to include subjects that are often overlooked, that people might otherwise pass by. This might be street furniture and industrial or domestic buildings, as well as more natural elements of the landscape like rocks. I am particularly interested in the textures that develop upon them, how they mark the passage of time. They all have their lives to live and something to tell us.
Painting can help us navigate the physical world, and perhaps sometimes transcend it, through the emotional and aesthetic sensation of colour combinations, It can take us to places in our minds that may not be physically accessible. We could be floating over water, through the air, or spending time in purely imaginary spaces. I hope my work brings you something of this experience.