Pink Sky Behind the Lighthouse

Living in London can sometimes give you a very urban experience and nature and a sense of the land can feel distant. Coming from Newcastle the north east coast offers an opportunity to stand at the water's edge and feel the elements up close, the wind, the rain, the smells, the sounds...St Mary's lighthouse at Whitley Bay plays an important part in my collected memories of the North East and this storm riddled 'memory' was painted from my house in London.

Red Line Above the Water

I've recently embarked on a set of about 20 small paintings where sky, sea and land divide each painting into 3 zones. This will be an exercise in colour and also discipline where I limit  myself to a strict theme of using the 3 zones in a realistic yet abstract format. This set of three paintings (tryptich) are part of the same project, in this case I have been applying the paint and then using a cloth to take off the surplus paint, this has created thin layers of colour and detail. At one point I scraped a thin layer of red paint with the help of a ruler along the 'horizon', hence the title.

Two Stand in the Water

It's often a difficult decision to know when a painting is finished. It is often an intuitive moment which brings the need to continue 'digging out' the work to an end and let the painting settle into itself. This painting took shape fairly quickly and I must be careful not to overwork it.

Boy in the Water

No.1

No.2

No.3

No.4

No.5

These 5 images are the early chronologies of my new painting 'Boy in the Water' which show how a painting not only develops but changes, sometimes massively and can bear no resemblance to its beginning. A painting often takes on a life of its own and at times it feels as if the artist, me in this instance, is only the conduit. This painting is not finished and may change further, even to the point where I need to change the title because the finished piece no longer tallies with the early title I have given it. 

Dark Faces on MDF 2011

Sue, Rita, Lindsay 2006

Birds on Tiles 2012

These birds are painted on 5cm sq. white ceramic tiles and I made them to give as Xmas presents to friends.