Speaking of Perugia

Urban and Metropolitan Landscape

My work is about looking, contemplating, and absorbing a sense of place and time and the evocation of fragmented memories and experiences. Urban and metropolitan environments are my source of interest and inspiration.

My focus is upon translating personal experiences of places I have spent time in, and recreating them pictorially with the intention of conveying sensations of moving around architectural spaces, from interior to exterior and from varying vantage points.

The interplay between light and shadow that occurs throughout the day; the highlighting of shape, form, and pattern; the subtlety and drama of colour changes brought about by fluctuating light on surface; these are the components of my work.

I begin from firsthand experiences and support my evolving ideas with reference to my drawings and photographs, as well as the strong evocative memories and sensations of my subject matter. These I explore both on the canvas and through a series of sketchbook drawings as my work develops. Colour. light and form and space are at the core of my interest.

This collection of paintings are a selection from pre lockdown years, 2018 and 2019 when travel was possible, and also a selection of the pieces I have made during the confinement and limitations of 2020 /21. The impact of the restricted life of lockdown has driven me to look much more closely at my domestic environment and my locale. Living in a coastal town has challenged my creative processes and the daily routine of walking and studying what is close by, has been the catalyst for a series of railway inspired paintings, some of which are included in this exhibition.

The largest in a series of five paintings about the experience of spending time in the historical city of Perugia in Italy. With a history dating back to Etruscan times and a wealth of wonderful architectural styles so well preserved, this piece is a story of journeying through the ancient steep stepped streets at varying times of day with the intention of evoking those ever present but transient memories of time and place.

Peruglia, Italy 2018

Oil on Canvas

104x74x3.5cm

Framed in an Open Frame