the artist

The power of nature remains the foundation to my paintings. We are surrounded by it and usually don't have far to go to reach it in all its raw beauty, even more so here in Yorkshire and the far reaches of the north. I visualise my landscapes and controversially seldom plan a painting until just before the brush hits the board. The sky holds the key to my work, controlling light bursts, muted illumination, deep shadow, angry threats of rain drowning the landscape; dense mist banks or delicate sheets of moisture passing through. Timeless, unless land-marked by working fields with boundaries or evidence of a distant road, path or stone structure. You could be anywhere. I’m inspired through an appreciation of our landscape, how it has been shaped through time and how weather dramatises sequences in cloud and light. The sky plays a crucial part in how the landscape comes alive; nature's 'show of the elements.' I imagine somewhere I’d like to be, walk through, drawing the elements together into a timeless landscape. Connect with the painting through mood or memory or view them simply to escape into.