artists register

Statement

'It is very well to copy what one sees; it's much better to draw what one has retained in one's memory. It is a transformation in which imagination collaborates with memory.' Edgar Degas

My art reflects a lifelong interest in memory and thought, and the way we interpret our experiences over time.

I draw on memories of landscapes around the world to create sense impressions of space and light. My invented landscapes feature the repeated use of stylised forms such as leaves, trees and blades of grass, the one sometimes morphing into the other. 

In my sketchbooks, on the other hand, I attempt to capture unposed moments in everyday life. Drawing from observation helps to develop my working memory and my understanding of the world we live in. And as I draw I develop a richer appreciation for the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. 

Whether working from observation or imagination, I am fascinated by relative scale and the way the smallest shift in perspective can determine whether something looks tiny or tremendous. 

These ideas were the basis for two of my solo exhibitions. First was The Portable River, or "Undercurrents - Ten Views through a River of Words", in 2007 at the River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames. Second in the series was "The Portable Forest" at Ripley Arts Centre in Bromley, Kent in 2012.

Undercurrents is about creative self expression, and what a story feels like when you can't find the words to tell it. The Portable Forest is about thought and memories, and the way they come to us in moments of stillness. I think of quiet reflection as a habitat in which certain species of thought thrive.

The images in The Portable Forest derive from Windsor Great Park and from my experience living in Germany: I was once deep in a forest where the only sound was a cuckoo calling in the distance, and the only visible creature was the occasional surprised deer. The magic of that memory has stayed with me, and I retreat to that world from time to time.

Biography