Currently showing at the LSA Artroom, Royal Priors, Leamington Spa until 6th July
I am a Leamington based painter, working mainly in oils and a regular exhibitor at Warwickshire Open Studios, Leamington Studio Artists (LSA) and Association of Midland Artists (AMA).
Originally I was inspired to paint in a traditional way, gleaning inspiration from the past, honing my drawing skills and use of oils, focussing particularly on still life and portrait painting.
More recently I have been concerned to explore new directions. My work has become more expressive, interpretative and abstract.
Finding my artistic ‘voice’ through landscape painting, gestural marks and capturing the emotion, elements and the forces of weather in my work. I have been influenced, for example, by the work of Scottish painter Joan Eardley and undertaking a couple of courses at the St Ives School of Painting and a workshop with Lewis Noble has encouraged this new direction. The end result being semi abstract and gestural painting which has helped me to use more expressive brushwork and a different colour palette.
My paintings aim to explore a sense of place rather than a direct representation, after all photographs can do that. Using pencil lines, slashes of colour and a fractured pictorial space helps with a sense of wildness and mood hopefully giving the viewer a new perspective.
I tend to work from memory rather than photographs. This reduces the risk of making a static image and spending time trying to make it look like ‘a nice picture’ of a recognisable place. Whilst my work still has recognisable landscape motifs, a new work that I will be showcasing entitled ‘Lake’ feels more ‘abstract’ and is representative of my current practice.
Winner of the 2024 LSA Open Award.
