Seaweed, Stones and Pools at my Toes Painting

My work is inspired by the landscape; I use it to trigger ideas, forms and structures. My paintings are not direct representations but an attempt to represent the feeling of being there; the movement, the elements, the textures and colours. I work on a variety of scales and mediums. It has always been an important part of the process of developing my ideas to work with a variety of media and techniques, such as printmaking, collage watercolour, inks. for me this time spent investigating is vital for creating successful paintings. My relationship with the landscape stems from growing up in Cheshire, family walks were a common occurrence. My final show at Cheltenham College of Art was a series of big 5ft square abstract paintings (oil on canvas) inspired by this landscape. Following my degree I have taught Art and Photography at Secondary school level for 25+ years. It wasn’t until my family and I moved house that I got my very own shed to work in! The first time I had my very own space. I started to develop work from my sketches produced from observation whilst on family holidays in Cornwall. The sea developed from being a convenient place to start to an exciting mix of colour, light texture and movement. I found the dramatic nature of the sea and the continually changing beach surface exciting. For the first time since my degree I started to explore what kind of artist I wanted to be. In April 2017 I registered as a Sole Trader and in September 2017 I reduced my work hours to 3 days so that I can focus more on painting. As I don’t actually live near the sea I have returned to my local landscape again. I am fascinated by this a changeable landscape with high sandstone ridges, dense woodland, undulating pathways, sheer drops and wide open aerial views. The drama in this landscape is the changing levels, horizons and viewpoints. I get very preoccupied with the linear qualities of the trees, the colours and textures of the foliage and the contours of the land. With a few notable achievements this year, a large number of sales, and the anticipation of a new studio in the spring, I look forward to making enough progress to make the leap of faith and fulfil my dream of painting full time.