Form, colour and narrative are the elements that drive my art practice—a shape, a hue, a shadow, a story—all assume importance to me: the 'just so' fold of a mountain range; the luminous clouds of an afternoon sky; the hues lying deep within a shadow, or atop a highlight; the pregnant pause within a moment; the 'mise en scene' in a fleeting vignette. I am driven to record these things as imprints of my camera mind.
My work spans a range of subject matter that becomes the support for the interaction of form, colour and narrative. Landscapes, Still Life, Urban and Interior scenes and Figurative works all function to carry my own desire to both capture the immediate world around me and, in the case of figurative works, to capture a narrative that encourages the viewer to 'fill in the blanks' with potential meaning that resonates. I have a degree in History and Creative Writing, and it is the latter that I bring to the canvas in the form of storytelling. I have created several graphic narratives that extend the desire to narrate, and I enjoy playing with polysemy (the space between word and image). In the case of Artworks, polysemy occurs between image and title.
I seek to bring appreciation for the natural world, to chronicle the region in which I live, and the places to which I may travel, and to entertain with questions about scenarios played out on the two dimensional surface.
I am completely self taught across 40 years. In my early career I took part in solo and group exhibitions, sold over 800 paintings and prints, maintained a commercial studio, held several residencies and facilitated local art festivals and community art projects, before life stepped in and my art practice was suspended whilst caring for a seriously injured partner. I turned to teaching to retain contact with art. Now I am back at the easel, and selling prints and original works from my studio in Somerset, SEQ. I find my practice has matured; my second art life finally begins!