Artist's StatementRecent work includes contemporary still-life compositions of treasured objects and everyday utilitarian items in oil. My still-life paintings may start with just one or two objects taken from the ceramic jugs, bottles, containers and small collectibles I have gathered over the years, often with a personal memory or connection. These compositions and table arrangements are an exploration of shape, colour, value and texture within the square or rectangle of the picture frame. The more complex the composition, the more I enjoy the challenge of working out the design, so that it draws the eye in and around the objects. These may be contained within the frame or cropped, giving the overall image an intimate feel, as if the viewer has just zoomed in to focus on one area of a larger composition. I sometimes use acrylic as a first layer of paint, building up further layers in oil, sometimes sanding areas back and then re-applying the paint to build up the texture. I also like to draw into the paint whilst still wet, to make marks or a pattern to add areas of interest. Relying on both observation and imagination, I endeavour to transform my paintings into something profound and arresting, far removed from the everyday and yet also familiar.

I also enjoy the encaustic process, using melted beeswax to combine elements of paper collage, print and paint in the molten wax medium. This involves a different, multi-layered approach to include various components with some advanced planning, then trial and error, until it works! These paintings can be quite challenging to create as they develop in an organic way. Encaustic paintings have a very tactile quality and viewers often ask if they can touch them, because they want to feel the pearly lustre surface, which they find so inviting.

Art StyleRepresentational, Contemporary

Art SubjectsStill Life, Seascape, Coastal

Art Materialsoils, watercolour