My work is inspired by patterns of and rhythms of nature. Walking my dogs daily through the fields and on the beautiful beaches of Northumberland and Berwickshire where I live, I often record the shapes and colours of the landscape in sketches and in photos. Back in the studio, painting often begins by recalling the sensation of the wind and the rain and the rhythm of the waves. My paintings are often inspired by place, but just as often an image, an object or even a moment in time can spark my imagination. Fragments of images, text, music or conversation can provide the starting point for a study in colour, line, form and texture which can then go on to inform a deeper exploration of the possibilities. My love of colour, pattern and repetition inevitably surfaces in the work: whether in landscape, still life or abstract, the challenge is to disrupt and subvert regularity to create a sense of tension whilst retaining an overall harmony. |