I predominately work with either oil paint or graphite. My paintings all start as simple sketches made from observation, with a focus on capturing and portraying an atmosphere.
I then develop various studies before starting on what I hope to be finished pieces. Working this way allows me to really explore a subject and I often work on a series.
By removing references to humans and animals, my focus is the light and the interaction between the sky and the land or sea. Of course, few landscapes are free of human influence – fields are ploughed, planted, harvested and hedges create boundaries.
However, skies change continuously, clouds form, disperse and reform, the light either direct or indirect creates an atmosphere. The moments before or after a storm, a sunset and a foggy morning all have very different atmospheres, and it is this diversity and the transient nature of the light that I find endlessly fascinating.
I avoid being too dogmatic when attributing meaning to my work, instead leaving it up to the viewer to interpret it themselves. However, people’s reactions are often interesting to me – for me no matter how dark the subject it is the light that is my focus, even if it is only a glimmer.
I also hope that the viewer feels something of the sense of calm that I feel when creating the work, giving them an opportunity to escape the noise of the everyday.
As a RWA Artist Network member, a member of Bath Society of Artists and a member of Somerset Art Works, I frequently show work in groups and selected exhibitions and have participated in open studios.