A JOURNEY TOWARDS SELF EXPRESSION AND ABSTRACTION.
I was born and educated in the North East of England and moved to Huddersfield in 1969. In 1983 I returned to education at Huddersfield University, where I studied graphic design and then went on to have a successful career as a designer. Since retirement my greatest joy is life drawing - I have attended life classes for the last 7 years, and still go to an untutored session one evening a week plus one whole Saturday a month. Wonderful!
The last few years have been an exciting journey of discovery. As well as searching for my own identity as an artist I am trying to freshen the classical study of the nude as a form of expression. To this end I have studied the work of many artists including Schiele and Klimt. By experimenting with the figure and a combination of media and techniques I aim to push the boundaries of the portrait and life studies using abstraction to add movement, drama and life to what is a static pose. The figure in the landscape, or as landscape is also a theme in my work, as is the enjoyment of the abstract sculptural qualities found in nature.
Most of my work is drawn directly from life using pastel, acrylic or oil onto an abstract background. The grounds are the result of experiments in acrylic paint, tissue paper, found image collages, or a mixture of all three. anything goes. There is no right or wrong way in art - it is a personal journey. I like to experiment - going with the flow, changing direction or using the occasional happy accident. Not all experiments are successful, but I learn a lot in the process.
I have loved the countryside and painted it since I was a child, in particular the wilder places. The places you can only find while walking. I love going up onto the North York Moors for picnics and listening to the cry of the curlew and bees buzzing in the heather... and not another soul in sight.
I always have a tree painting in process. At the moment I am painting an old wood with lots of twisting knarled branches and roots. I must confess that most of it is from memory and it is appearing on the canvas as if by magic.
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