musings

Scrapbooking – collecting the things I find interesting

Various projects

Projections – innate and vital signs of power is a series of musings clustered around the idea of manipulating power, co ntrolling it and making objects and signs imbued with mystical powers.

Relics and reliquaries, devotional objects in Seville’s magnificent cathedral sparked this idea; all that is known, a store of worldly knowledge; fingertip power, dials, switches and flickering screens controlling powerful forces; perpetual motion, thinking about a journey without a beginning or end; weather sculpting landscape, capturing landscape without taming it; labyrinths of the mind, games as metaphors for life; annunciation, what did quattrocento painters want to conceal? symbols of defiance, the power and protection offered by marks and images; learning from the masters, a scrapbook of techniques of great artists.

Nature Inspirations – a series celebrating the wonderful variety of shape, colour, size and texture that the natural world offers to engage the artist.

Ever-changing seasons, looking closely at the continual cycle of birth, growth, maturity and death; sole survivors, focusing on the endless variety in woodlands and forests, constantly changing in their appearance throughout the year; signature of time, looking at the shape, structure and texture of a variety of species in varying stages of growth and decay; all that glitters, telling the story of the earth’s origins through their faceted shapes and multiple forms, from tiny gemstones to imposing granite rock faces; and the source of abstraction , focusing on the boundary between flora and fauna, such as a fungus that resembles flesh, or a shell that takes on the appearance of a human ear.

Human Relations – a series of musings based around how we react to each other, our surroundings and how we make sense of what we find.

Shifting tides and places , the North Norfolk coast, shifting tides and places; a different truth , reinterpreting myths to fit a modern life; capturing a likeness , more than mere paint on canvas; what lies at the core , exploring themes of place, power and fate; signs of fertility , studying these ancient statues; tableaux of dreams , living dreams and understanding life.

Shapes & Landscapes – a series of musings that endeavours to explain synaesthetic visual perception of the world.

Projects in this group are between worlds , suspense and surprise; natural forms, the challenge of using Natural Forms as a starting point for abstracts; reflections and refractions , reflections open up many possibilities for abstract shapes; time and tide, well rounded structures make satisfying shapes; connecting and interlocking , anchored at each end and defying gravity; elevated plains, flat plains in elevated positions provide complex geometry; dark havens, the many types of valley encourage experimentation; structural curves , gentle curves and key stones holding structures in place.

Places – a series of musings that is concerned with being a spectator within a structure and evaluating what is around you. This can be both figurative and abstract, static and moving.

A path to a higher plane , the mountain that inspired Dante; seeing in the dark, clashing colours, a labyrinth of red and green walls; journey through landscape , a journey through a rocky coastal region produced a satisfying sequence of paintings; ancient structures, an ancient town with many steps, stairways and alleys waiting to be explored and painted; curated spaces, following a long tradition of artists inspired by their gardens; mythical seascape, distant islands appear to float above cerulean seas; separate identities, is both an ancient landscape and an extremity – a destination, not a thoroughfare, a fascinating subject for artists; ancient civilisations , there is a feeling of otherness bordering on sadness about these places which makes artists of all kinds feel at home; faith fortified inspired the production of four paintings, each one emphasising a different aspect of the location.