2024
The theme running through my work has always been the concept of journeys and journeying, through time or place. Every now and then I become captivated with something specific to that experience. These subjects have included the images of Buddha in Thailand and India, the Apsaras of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Asian stone carvings, autumnal leaves in Massachusetts, Upstate New York and the UK, as well as mountain scapes inspired by the Himalayas, the Andes, the Rockies and the Dolomites.
I have also made series’ of prints and paintings based on the iconic breakwaters of the south of England’s coast lines and, what is washed up on the beaches of the UK. More recently I have been exploring the use of found natural objects collected from these places visited, to create images through cyanotype, printmaking and mixed media works.
During the initial lockdown in March 2020 I had a fortnightly flower delivery. Living in such an urban environment and unable to get my usual fix of the natural world due to travel restrictions, these flowers brought a small part of nature back into my life. As the flowers wilted and the petals started to fall, they were given another lease of life through their use in my prints. I cyanotyped them and I printed directly from the plants. I was trying to rescue what was left of their precious existence, reflecting the experiences of so many during the pandemic. The following series of monoprints continue with the process of capturing the cycle of the dying plants and immortalising them on paper. They are delicate, ethereal and dream like. They are trying hold onto the fragile life that is left.
As lockdowns repeated themselves the development of the work reflected the shrinking of our lives. The prints are on a much more domestic scale than previously. As the seasons went on and the restrictions continued, inspiration was drawn from the small amounts of freedom allowed, daily walks. Images and natural objects were collected and brought back into the studio to be painted or used to create prints from, through the processes of cyanotype and monoprint or oil pastel drawings.
This process of collecting natural objects has remained integral to the post lockdown work. The recycling of nature and the harnessing of the sunlight to process the cyanotypes remains an important part of the integrity of the work.
The work does not dictate to the viewer, it suggests, aiming to trigger memories, imagination and contemplation. Every piece of work and element is a journey taken – they are vehicles of transcendence, a place or situation revisited, with the added element of memory. Different aspects of the journeys become apparent in each set of images. Various paths are followed and often retraced as new insights are gained on every return echoing the changes in the natural world over time, be it a natural development or the effects of our human footprints. The essence of the work remains throughout the various bodies of artwork, that is the experience of a journey of some sort, a physical and visual exploration, whether it is for the first time or a repeated experience.
2020/21
The theme running through my work has always been the concept of journeys and journeying, through time or place. This idea still motivates the artwork. The physical journeys are limited but the emotional and mental journeys are enhanced. The artworks created over the last year are a form of documentation. The visual imagery and the natural objects collected represent the passing seasons as well as states of mind and emotions.
The first set of prints created during the initial lockdown in March 2020, are dark, heavy and weighted down, with the natural forms becoming very abstracted. There are many layers, both obliterating and enhancing different elements. Layers of monoprint are overprinted on a base of cyanotype, both created from remnants of flowers that were delivered to me twice a month.
Living in such an urban environment and unable to get my usual fix of the natural world due to travel restrictions, these flowers brought a small part of nature back into my life. As the petals started to fall and the flowers wilt, they are given another lease of life, trying to rescue what is left of their precious existence, reflecting the experiences of so many during this current pandemic. The following series of monoprints continue with the process of capturing the cycle of the dying plants and immortalising them on paper. They are delicate, ethereal and dream like. They are trying hold onto the fragile life that is left.
As lockdowns repeat themselves the development of the work reflects the shrinking of our lives. The prints are on a much more domestic scale than previously. As the seasons go on and the restrictions continue, inspiration is drawn from the small amounts of freedom allowed, daily walks. Images and natural objects are collected and brought back into the studio to be painted or used to create prints from, through the processes of cyanotype and monoprint or oil pastel drawings.
The work does not dictate to the viewer, it suggests, aiming to trigger memories, imagination and contemplation. Various paths are followed and often retraced as new insights are gained on every return echoing the changes in the natural world over time, be it a natural development or the effects of our human footprints.