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.