My new collection called Land Sea and Air will be shown at the Goldmark Gallery in Uppingham. The new collection is inspired by English Landscapes and Seascapes looked at realistically, but at the same time recording my emotional response to the land or seascape.
I normally select places I have seen and hold special feeling for places where I have experienced inspirational moments! Then I allow the emotion I feel for the place to influence how I paint the scene. The cliffs at night and the sunset carpets are as much evocative memories and emotions as observed scenes.
New to my work are the two woodland scenes. These are really based on many journeys by car and walking through small woods in autumn. The experience of the autumn colour when driving quickly in a car is that of a wood on fire. The colour of the autumn leaves is very much more vivid then when actually walking around and beneath the trees. I tried to put this experience into the colours I used in both of the tree compositions.
In this my latest collection, I have used more than one perspective in a composition. This is to give dramatic effect that one can experience personally, particularly if you move around the landscape. This effect is difficult to portray in a flat medium. To help achieve a different three dimensional effect, I have started to use a technique of cutting into my landscapes at the finishing stages.This is achieved by cutting some of the carpet pile away, creating highs and lows in it, thus enhancing the surface texture, allowing more light and shadow, which I as the artist can control.
