Petri dish 2019 Painting

From a young age I have had a love of pattern and minute detail; drawing for hours and filling sketchbooks with eclectic inspiration taken from the Yorkshire countryside, moors and coast. Fascinated by spreading organic structures such as lichen, fungi and mould; I explore details in sketchbooks as a starting point before creating paintings made from multiple layers of watercolour and ink. Each layer develops organically, growing and spreading across the page. Starting out creating etchings as a student my prints have evolved into detailed, labour intensive embosses made from carved lino blocks. The embosses are made without ink and focus solely on the texture of the paper and carved details. It is becoming increasingly important to work more sustainably both in the art I produce and the materials I use. In response to this, in 2020 I began making my own art materials in my small garden studio in South Yorkshire, exploring traditional and contemporary methods in watercolour and ink. In 2022 I was awarded a research and development residency at Cannon Hall Museum Park and Gardens; exploring growing and foraging colour within the landscape. This residency has sparked a new theme of including pigments from my local environment within my work. Recent examples are: A black pigment made from the charcoal of a 200 year old apple tree, a grey pigment made from acorn caps gathered from my garden and a pigment made from grinding a brick from a greenhouse built in the grounds of Cannon Hall in 1785. During the residency I grew indigo from seed and planted a small plot within the walled garden. Previously I had purchased indigo from India. The end result was homegrown beautiful indigo pigment which I have used in my watercolours and as a printing ink. Please visit my Instagram account for project updates and work in progress.