Artist

I paint things which somehow draw my eye because they’re beautiful or unusual. They tend to be places where I am present in the landscape and in nature, where things live and grow like trees, birds, fruit and flowers. Recently, I was having difficulties, was troubled mentally and struggled with harsh feelings towards myself and the world. While still with these feelings, after some weeks, one morning I had the thought of painting something, anything, in the coming week. It hadn’t occured to me. I’ll paint something! There was a rush of upward moving energy, visceral excitement. The intention to paint lifted me out of my self-imposed malaise. I thought I had discovered the key to something that was important to me. I remember a quote I came across some time ago, in one of Penny Pearce’s books, by Harold Whitman. He said, Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Just the thought of painting raised me up and made me connect with the feeling of being truly alive. I’d be happy to think someone who looks on one of my paintings might be able to feel that.

My paintings are large, medium size or small, on linen, canvas or wood. I sometimes use acrylic as an underlay and continue with oils as the thought takes me, but can use anything to hand.