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Every
artist experiences an epiphany of some sort, a clear realization
that ‘this’ is what it’s all about.
I had left teaching and the Midlands to move to Dorset
and the ancient beautiful landscape I found was certainly
such a revelation.
One
day I visited the Hell Stones above Portesham. Imagine
a vast vaulted sky, a chalk textured field stretching
ahead to reveal an ancient stone structure, a Neolithic
dolmen originally erected about 4000BC. I was well and
truly hooked and from then on Dorset’s ancient sites
and marks on the landscape have been the source material
for most of my work. Purbeck and Cranborne Chase (where
I lived for many years) are the primary inspiration but
more generally it is the quality of light (the chalk ‘earth’
reflecting the light), the long horizons and huge skies
which influence my work.
Stones,
rocks and the discovery of Purbeck’s amazing ‘edge’,
its coastline, the intricate detail and sweeping scale
as well as its textures and shapes were all absorbed into
my ’vocabulary’. In response I created new
techniques to try and express what I had seen.
I
had taught ceramics and that awareness of surfaces coupled
with the need to recreate textures led me to experiment.
The experience of firing pots in kilns led me to explore
the action of fire on acrylic and oil paint. I learned
of the stresses and textures resulting from this action
and by layering, smoothing back and combining with mixed
media (glue for example) managed to achieve the surfaces
evident in the paintings in this exhibition.
I
now paint full-time and exhibit regularly, my work being
in numerous private and corporate collections. I have
also been selected for inclusion in ‘Fifty Wessex
Artists’ and ‘Cranborne Chase Artists’,
both books being published last year.
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