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My paintings have
always been based on the English landscape. I have dabbled in
other things but for me its landscapes that have held the most
interest. I feel a huge amount of satisfaction in trying to
create the tension that fills the air just before a
thunderstorm, or the atmosphere of being the first one on the
beach on a cold autumn morning. As my work has progressed over
the years it has been the mood, the light within the painting
that has become the central theme. More of the image is taken up
by sky, for this gives the light, therefore the mood of the
painting. The landscape is almost incidental. This may be
because of my locality on the edge of the Cambridgeshire Fens, a
notoriously flat area that is dominated by the sky. Also, I can
drive for an hour and be on the Norfolk coast, well known for
its huge empty beaches where the tide goes out for miles. It has
been this portrayal of space that seems to have been behind the
success of my work, people writing themselves into the painting,
identifying with the solitary figure on the beach.
Other inspirations
can come from anywhere; it’s just a case of keeping your eyes
open. Sometimes it can even be as simple as seeing two colours
together, just out of the corner of your eye, that can spark off
an idea, even glossy car commercials. To me these are just as
important as any amount of reference photographs and sketches
that I make.
Of course I have
always looked at the work of other painters. In the early days
any work I did was just a pale facsimile of my father’s work.
However, as I worked more I began to look at the paintings by
Monet, Corot, Sisley, Seago and others. I am not a great art
historian and did not go to art college so don’t have any great
knowledge to fall back on. I tend to look more at whatever is
going on around me, maybe just walking around some of the
galleries in London. |
