Bold and Unapologetic Painting

Abstract artist, painter, maker and stitcher are some of the many names I'd use to describe myself within my creative practice. I'm endlessly inspired by the process of creativity and the opportunity to translate how I experience the world around me through line, shape and colour. My work is created through layers of paint, collage and textiles, returning to hand embroidery when I want to slow things down. I find interesting lines in everyday objects such as a row of paint pots, the spindles of a chair back or a propped up easel. I rarely have the desire to create a realistic interpretation of the object, only to capture parts which interest me. For me, a line which is drawn from life often holds a certain sense of aliveness than one which is drawn from my imagination. I take the painted lines and work intuitively to draw connections that form organic shapes and compositions. I'm drawn to muted palettes and earth tones, the washed out and the faded. Desaturated colours conjour up feelings of age and histories like you find with old fabrics, they're worn looking but rich with sophistication, depth and meaning. I enjoy their softness and the harmonies they create. Although my preference is for a muted and limited palette, I love to see the odd pop of bright peeping through, a flash of turquoise against a fading magenta or the saturated blue boat against the neutral tones of the sand get me every time! I often begin my paintings by throwing everything down (almost with wild abandon!) including brights and saturated colours as an underpainting, knowing that the majority will be covered and also knowing there's the chance that some won't be covered and will be left to peep through as the painting builds.