"Butterfly Effect" Painting

I paint as much from the nature of my own being as from the natural world outside. When I am able to work aligned with the moment-to-moment dictates from within, I feel something profound and unfathomable expressing itself through me. Finding myself in the zone is perhaps the biggest challenge. Born in Brighton in the sixties, I was fortunate to have grown up in a bohemian, liberal and culturally stimulating atmosphere which fed my artistic interests from an early age. As an adolescent I also had a number of spiritual experiences that altered my worldview and deepened my perspective on life. Graduating with a BA (Honours) Degree, I began my professional career first as an illustrator and then as a landscape painter working primarily in oils. After winning the Sussex Open Visitors’ Award at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, I relocated to the countryside, driven by a love for nature and a fascination with natural phenomena. I have become less interested in capturing something than in setting something free. This has led to a departure from traditional representation toward an exploration of abstract forms, mark-making and qualities of contre-jour or inner light. My practice utilises the expansive fluid possibilities of acrylic paints and mediums; working horizontally on absorbent grounds, I allow the paint to self-level and interact dynamically with the surface, resulting in organic, thickly flowing textures and luminous colour fields. The character of paint marks, their relative colour, tone, transparency, viscosity, movement and so on, and the relationship between them, are what I am now invested in. The work communicates through perceptive recognition of these qualities, juxtapositions and dynamics. Inspired by Eastern calligraphy, I use spontaneous, intuitive gestures to translate emotional energy directly onto the canvas in a way I hope resonates with the viewer. No conceptual understanding is required, only an open heart. My paintings have been featured in numerous regional and solo exhibitions and are held in private collections across the U.K., U.S., France, Spain, India, Norway and Australia.