Biography – Having formerly valued the importance of direct observation drawing to support my painting, I now prefer to allow memory and imagination to fuel a more creative response.
My current painting practice is therefore studio based using experiences and recollections from remote locations with little regard to actual topographical landscape or specific constituents.
Paintings are therefore abstract but not to the extent that they cannot in some way be contextualized.
I am particularly attracted to harbours and estuaries; fascinated by the ebb and flow of the channels of water; the colours shadows and shapes, lines, textures and detritus perpetually exposed and concealed.
Relying on my memory bank of impressions my paintings begin with a conscious selection of colour and initial gesture or mark. From that point onwards I work instinctively. Each painting continues on its complex journey; asserting, veiling and obliterating using mainly acrylic paint combined with a variety of media. A piece might undergo quite radical incursions if I’m tinkering with description and those initial starting points may well have been lost en route.
Paintings are often energised with expressive, lively swoops of colour and contrasting line. Other times more restraint and control is prioritised but always my principal concern is the juxtaposition and interaction between colours.
Each painting’s journey is usually complex, undergoing dramatic changes sometimes taking weeks to resolve.