Bridge Over The Irwell

I like to deal with material that is local, exploring the figure and the landscape as subjects. I don’t use photographs; I paint exclusively from observation.

I regularly go out into the landscape and usually work on the same motif over a period of weeks or months. The smaller studies are always completed in one session and can be easily transported in a pochade box. Working on large canvas or board will entail returning to the subject at the same time of day in similar weather conditions, working for one or two hours in a session. During this process I am always searching for the right way and painting is a document of these different ways and directions.

I am trying to express my feelings of being present in a place and not just the visual aspects of the landscape. I paint in all weathers sometimes very early in the morning and late into the evening I’m not solely concerned with the visual experience but with the sensory experience of being there. The taste of the rain, smell of the sea air, and the noise of the waves crashing down on the beach.

Recent achievements

2010 Elected as a member of Manchester Academy of Fine Arts.

2011 Dr Barbara Oldham MBE award for best work of art – MAFA
Summer exhibition

2011 BA (Hons) Fine Art-1st class