25th October II

The world around us is changing rapidly. Green spaces are being filled with houses; horizons are interrupted by giant wind turbines. The long-ago deforested landscape that feeds us is shrinking, filled with impermeable concrete and plastic.

 

Encouraged by my mother and grandmother I learned to appreciate what was around me and started to draw and paint. I grew up on an organic farm situated on the North Devon coast. The landscape I am familiar with is made up of rolling countryside, laced together by the tracery of Devon hedge banks. To the East are the hills of Exmoor, to the Southwest, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor and to the North, across the Bristol Channel, the Gower Peninsular and the Welsh Coast. These and the nearer hills are altered by the varying atmospheric conditions, sometimes seeming to disappear in a series of planes that fade into the distance.

 

My work is inspired by this scenery. I am aware of the fragility of the world we live in and endeavour to express this and the beauty I see around me in the hope that what we have will be appreciated and protected.

 

Using delicate colour change, I paint watercolour landscapes, striving to create an impression of contours, planes, horizons, and distance. Simplicity emphasises distance and colour suggests atmosphere – the lines drawn are minimal and natural. They are usually titled with the date that inspired me, reflecting the variance in weathers, light, and seasons. Their size (often smaller than A5) reflects what I see in the distant, miniaturised landscapes near the horizon.

 

In contrast, my pen and ink drawings are sharply detailed. I enjoy exploring the countryside in winter to find their subject matter, in particular looking for bare, silhouetted trees.
 

 

Watercolour

28x28cm

Framed