Sketchbooks
My paintings are produced in the studio, but always originate from live encounters with the landscape. I spend a lot of time out in nature, whether swimming in rivers, walking in woodland or climbing to hilltop viewpoints.
I produce rapid gestural sketches during these excursions, as well as taking photographs and short videos. Sometimes a painting develops directly from one preparatory image; other pieces evolve from a number of sketches and compositions, or from memory.
Drawing is central to my practice, and my instinctive and vigorous mark-making in sketchbooks is often scaled up for the resulting paintings.
This page features a selection of recent sketchbook entries, which I hope provide some insight into how I work towards a 'finished' painting.
South from Leith HillPen & ink on paper | End to End (Fonthill Lake)Pen & ink on paper | Somerset Levels From Burrow MumpPen & ink on paper |
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Lilies on the Far Bank. Slow River, Gentle ShimmerPen & ink on paper | Wey MeanderPen & ink on paper | Deep Bank (Curving River Wey)Pen & ink on paper |
Across Fonthill LakePen & ink on paper | Big Cloud (Coombe Hill, Late August)Pen & ink on paper | Light on the WeyPen & ink on paper |