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From my earliest
childhood, the sea with it’s continually changing moods, has
always been the greatest source of inspiration for me. There is
a great sense of calm and tranquility. The sound of the waves
crashing, that distinctive smell and the wind on your face - in
fact the whole 3-dimensional experience. I can never tire of it
and it still evokes the same excitement now as it did when I was
a child – running over the pebbles and sharp shells to be first
to get to the sea. It is so evocative that it drives me to try
to re-create it in my paintings.
There is a wonderful
luminosity and reflective light quality that surrounds the
coast. Everywhere else is very flat by comparison. This light
quality creates ideas and inspires me.
The wild white
breakers of the great Atlantic coast in Cornwall, such as
Holywell Bay and Sennan Cove, and the translucent azure
aquamarine tints around Studland in Dorset and Salcombe in
Devon.
Although I draw
most of my inspiration from the coasts around the South West, I
have been very much inspired by places further afield such as
the Seychelles, California and South Africa.
I like to walk
over the great rolling hills of the South Downs in Sussex and
Hampshire. From Butser Hill and The Trundle the sun beams down
in shafts onto the sea in the distance. I try to re-create the
brilliant blues that are almost tangible. Much of the way I
interpret colour comes from my photographs, with the strong
chromatic colours you get from transparencies.
I have also been
influenced by minimalism - clean, clear lines, uncluttered, and
un-chaotic - symmetry!
I like to paint in
peace and to focus, and for that I need quietness.
I work in both
watercolour and oil- each is very different and which medium I
use depends on my mood, but it is the sea which draws me back
each time. |
