Artist’s Statement and Statement of Technique

My paintings are created using intense and brightly colored soft pastels applied directly onto sanded paper or a mixed media combination of watercolors and pastels.

My impressionist work

The majority of my landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes are created by applying pastels onto a colored ground. The use of a colored ground creates an additional textural and color element to the painting, which helps to unify the overall color of the piece and create a harmonious balance.

Whether a wild and untamed landscape; or a landscape nurtured and created by human intervention; or the towering beauty of a city skyline – these subjects hold for me a different fascination and entirely different challenges in composition and in the interplay of color and light.

My impressionist paintings are borne of my initial reaction to color in that observed environment; it might be an unexpected, vibrant, splash of color, or a contrast of extremes, or the interplay of warm and cool hues. Once my eye has been caught I search for the best composition to express my reaction to the scene which has captivated my attention: sometimes the composition is clearly there before me in reality and needs no other explanation whilst other times I have to adjust the scene, eliminating the unwanted or adding elements for greater impact in order to best express what initially appealed to me.

Concerned only with capturing the essence rather than the physical reality of the scene, my work is largely impressionistic in inspiration with the occasional foray into “abstract impressionism”!

My abstract work

My purely abstract paintings are created almost exclusively on a white abrasive ground. Each piece evolves intuitively through a process of sketching, pastel under-painting, alcohol washes over soft pastel, watercolor underpainting and re-application of pastel in, often, many layers.

In some paintings watercolor highlights complete the abstract design.

My abstract paintings are borne of total freedom of expression – created by the evolving interaction between line, color and texture in each piece – during the painting process. This ensures that every piece is entirely original in creation and design.