New Work
About Me
I live in Kent and have recently graduated from UCA Canterbury where I achieved a degree in Fine Art. Previously I spent many years working as a garden designer. This experience of immersion in design composition, dealing with space and enclosure, using formal considerations and working with nature, has provided a strong foundation for my artistic practice.
I am drawn to the melancholy of the deaths of small familiar creatures. The delicacy of the images speaks of a sensitivity to the pathos inherent in the natural cycle of life and death; the struggles of the living and the inevitability of their end. These “small passings” provide visual metaphors which invoke a universal dialogue about strength and vulnerability.
My visual language has developed through a consideration of intentionality. I examine fragility through the instability of the wet surface and its effects on the marks made. Blurring, dissolving, disintegration and softness, the unpredictability of natural forces and the disruption of the cohesion in the pigments, reinforce this vulnerability. Sharpness of line, depth of tone, intensity of pigment and an emphasis placed on the means of flight, express strength. In my paintings I attempt to capture the poignancy of fortitude: An act of will which carries an inevitable emotional cost.
In my work I examine the power in the dialogue between mark and space. The unpainted areas of the page speak of borderless, boundless sublimity, their emptiness breathing life and strength into the image. Reciprocally; the image energises those empty spaces. In all its morbid beauty, this work enters the arena of the sublime.
If you are interested in commissioning a piece of work, please get in touch.
Gallery
Commissions
In addition to my practice I have undertaken a number of commissions in various media and style. Images of these can be viewed here.
If you are interested in commissioning a piece of work please contact me via my contact page leaving a means of contacting you to discuss the artwork you would like me to achieve.
Exhibitions
Pilgrims Hospice post card auction, Harbour Arm, Margate 2011 and 2013
UCA Pop-Up Gallery, Chatham.
‘Survival’ 24th Jan – 21st March 2012
‘Evolution of Consciousness’ 30th March – 31st May 2012
‘Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, an exhibition’ 14th-28th July2012
UCA Canterbury BA Fine Art Degree Show 2013 31st May – 7th July
Threadneedle Prize Open Exhibition 2013 – my work was preselected
Works On Paper Fair 06/02/2014 – 09/02/2014
The Science Museum, South Kensington,London
Save the Children post card exhibition, Stark gallery, Canterbury, October 2014
Currently showing in Lilford Gallery, Canterbury
3 Palace St, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2DY tel.01227 63908