I find the practice of painting is akin to meditation where the mind is focused on the work and all the stuff of everyday life disappears.

My work is inspired by a varied collection of objects around my studio and home, flowers in the garden and the colours and textures found in the landscape, especially the geology and flora of the coastal cliffs where I walk daily.

The paintings are mostly oil on linen or board and I prefer a limited palette mixing my colours from the three primaries, black and white. I start by making random marks of colour (the under painting is integral to the work) which gradually take shape as pared down Still Life compositions bringing order, balance and a bit of tension into the initial chaos. My fascination with the relationship between form, space, and colour is fundamental to my practice.

I make many small drawings, collages and oil sketches for reference during the process. At the end of each working day brushes and palette knives are wiped onto newspaper often creating little sketches which are later pasted into work books which become ideas for future paintings.

A woman is pointing at a painting on a wall
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