Landscape Painter
“I am a landscape painter living on the edge of Dartmoor and working from my studio in the village of Holne. I have drawn and painted throughout my life but began working as an artist over ten years ago after an academic career in biomedical research. I exhibit regularly in galleries in South West England in solo, shared and group exhibitions and my paintings also can be found in Germany, Denmark and in Australia.
The Dartmoor landscape is my passion. Being close to this wild and spiritual place gives me endless inspiration and has enabled me to merge my love of art and the natural world. I seek out unusual subjects and am attracted to the less visited and wilder areas of the moor, and to the fleeting moods and light changes that the unpredictable weather brings.
I am particularly drawn to the ancient sites such as the stone rows and circles that reflect the moor’s ancient history but also to the more gentle parts of the landscape with its intricate field patterns of hedged or stonewalled fields, juxtaposed with bleak moorland, tumbling rivers and rocky tors.
The beautiful coastline of the South West Peninsula is also an inspiration to me and presents a contrast to the sometimes, starkness of the moor. I also enjoy painting the more intimate aspects of the landscape, namely the seasonal profusion of wild flowers, hedgerows and trees. Further afield, my travels at home and abroad inspire me to capture my experiences in paint.
Oils, acrylics and mixed media are my preferred materials. The choice of medium is dictated by the subject matter and the effect I want to create. Some paintings have been developed using acrylic paints and may involve texture paste and found materials such as moorland grasses and sand.
Supplementary oil pastels, pens and pencils may be used additionally to achieve the desired effect. In other paintings I use oils to develop an image by superimposing translucent glazes of paint to produce a luminous and semi abstract painting. Colour is important to me and I enjoy finding new ways of expressing the essence of the landscape with the use of colour.
I also like to experiment with different styles and a range of techniques. I prefer a ‘hands on’ approach using palette knives, rollers, fingers, rags, sponges, sticks and any implement that achieves the purpose but also use brushes when appropriate."
