I gravitate to wild areas where I love the drama of ever-changing light and weather as well as the solitude and peace which helps to concentrate the mind. I am a photographer and a painter influenced by these wonderful natural landscapes. I have traditionally found my inspiration in N. W. Scotland, mid-Wales and the far west of Cornwall, but recently I have also been painting in Oxfordshire.

 

The practicalities of working outside are always challenging but I always try to work in situ unless I am painting very large scale or if the weather is just too cold, wet or unpredictable. I enjoy the liberating physicality of using paint on a large scale, experimenting loosely with big brushes, rags, sponges or using my hands whenever appropriate. The ever-changing light of these wild places forces me to react spontaneously, emotionally and be brave with my work. I work with black and white emulsions and acrylic and charcoal as well as in oils.

 

One of my favourite projects was preparing for an exhibition of industrial paintings of Didcot Power Station. The enormity of the concrete cooling towers and turbine hall with all the accompanying pipes and metalwork encouraged large scale black and white paintings. Battersea Power Station is also a favourite subject especially as it undergoes its current transformation.

 

Oxfordshire landscapes are softer and I concentrate on painting the flora as part of a greater recognisable landscape, most often in the Little Wittenham nature reserve and along the River Thames.