Artistic background
I am a painter of vivid abstract seascapes. I am endlessly fascinated by the horizon and the symbolism it evokes. Music is integral to my work inspiring my artistic practice and I always title my paintings from song lyrics. I did a degree in Fine Art at Brighton University and fell in love with the Sussex Coast. Now I live in Hastings and I find that the sea is a constant source of inspiration and subject matter. My studio is a Summerhouse in my garden with sea views that constantly inspire me and I love painting the light on the horizon. I have always felt driven to paint and can't imagine doing anything else.
Quote
I paint from memory rather than life, recalling a special moment of time as my starting point. I love working with pure colour and my paintings are heavily influenced by the beauty of the natural world, particularly light on water at certain times of day. Together with horizons, my work has a recurring theme of time and an exploration of light and darkness through minimalism.
Interests
Music is integral to my work, inspiring my artistic practice and I always listen to music to get me in the zone when painting and feel this has a strong influence on the finished work. For me music triggers memories and feelings and each painting is an emotional response to a sensory experience and an attempt to recapture how it felt to be in a particular place at a certain time. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of dreamy folk music like Johnny Flynn, Martha Tilston, John Martyn and Sandy Denny. I think this adds an ethereal quality to the paintings and I often get lost in the music and don’t realise where the time goes. I always title my paintings from songs, with lyrics often jumping out at me while I'm painting that seem to fit the artwork perfectly. I feel that a snippet of a song lyric as a title gives the painting extra depth.
