Untitled Painting

Ultimately my work is about all the different strands of life I have been involved in and continue to be fascinated by. While at art college in the late 1970s and early 1980s, alongside the provided art and cultural studies, I discovered history, politics and philosophy. Culturally this was an exciting time, not least because of the 'punk explosion' that was challenging many accepted norms and not just in the current music scene of the time. Later in the mid to late 1980s I became more involved in matters psychological and eventually trained in Art Therapy. Since then I have practised as an Art Therapist working in the field of adult mental health. These varied and sometimes contrasting spheres have continued to fascinate me. Naturally my art work reflects these different areas of interest, but more than this over the years it has become a struggle to try and integrate and distil these competing elements. In the early 1990s I took a masters degree in Art and Psychotherapy at Sheffield University, which looking back was part of this process of searching. What I came to realise was that academic study and theoretical explanation was not in itself going to provide the synthesis I was looking for. Alongside all this I was painting and doing art work, and almost unnoticed for a while something was happening. At first in my drawings and doodles, and then increasingly in my painting a particular form was beginning to appear. As time went by it became more distinct with a kind of personality of its own. In my mind it seemed to have its own name - Tarkus. Was this the integrating power I had been searching for? Just what is Tarkus?* Well that, as they say, is a whole other story. Foundation Studies in Art and Design, Preston Polytechnic, Lancaster, UK Fine Art B.A. Hons, Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham, UK Art Therapy Post Grad Diploma, South Harts College of Art and Design, St Albans, UK Art and Psychotherapy Master Degree, University of Sheffield, UK Directer/Member Luneside Artist Studios, Lancaster, UK * If you look at the paintings on show you should be able to catch a glimpse of Tarkus for yourself.