Biography

For over ten years my work has focused on the exciting skies and weather moods found in places in Britain where earth, water, air and light meet. This has taken me largely to western locations on the Pembrokeshire coast, North Cornwall and the banks of the River Severn, Gloucestershire. My paintings are spontaneous responses to the dance of light and the ever-changing dynamics of the elements.

For several years now, my focus has been inspired by a series of eight journeys to the extreme cardinal points of the UK mainland over the course of a year. Based on the Wheel of Life as found in many cultures, the timing of each journey coincided with the Celtic and Christian festivals that celebrate the changing seasons and inspire inner activity. I gathered the local sand to use in my paintings along with what has become my signature material, the River Severn mud.

Within this structure of polarities and cycles I found a huge freedom. It was my intention to perceive the essence of each specific compass point as well as the time of day and year it related to. The result is an extensive body of work, as diverse in mood and execution as in texture, the sand from each place dictating the quality of the surface. The physical locations became the stage for the weather and seasons to act out their dramas, each inspiring me with experiences that I could then transform onto the canvases using my hands as tools.