My process, how I create my art and what inspires me…
It’s my time to play.
My inspiration originally came from the wild, remote and rugged landscapes where there is a touch of danger, wild animals, the unknown. I am still very much inspired by landscapes but I have discovered the creative freedom allowed to those who can shrug off the need to comply with societal norms and expectations. I paint freely and intuitively with a disregard for rules and I take risks, usually not a good idea whilst driving or crossing the road but when I’m painting I can take risks with no dire consequences, which frees me up to create without restrictions or boundaries. I can make mistakes but (nearly!) always find a way out by embracing those mistakes and happy accidents and incorporating them into my work. I love the not knowing where I am headed when I start a piece, it’s exciting and totally absorbing, much like meditation. I am in the moment not thinking just following my intuition.
The studio a place to experiment, throw caution to the wind and take risks, here, the materials lead the way, acrylic paint is my usual medium as it dries quickly and allows me to paint over. I decide on a colour to start, which may change, and my pallette is limited to two or three colours and white, possibly black. Starting with some drawn lines, scribbles or big fluid brush strokes, depending on my mood, it doesn’t really matter because it may all be covered up with further layers, with glimpses of the history peeping through. Oil pastels are a go to for drawing lines and sgraffito scribbles as the don’t smudge too much when you paint over.
I like to spray water onto the wet paint surface to form drips and dribbles enjoying the unpredictability of it and the soft translucent effects. The underlayers are where the mystery lies. Remembering the old school desks with years of childish graffiti one on top of the other, ancient pictographs and petroglyphs on the red rocks in the American desert. All remnants of past peoples and their stories.
My tools are not refined top quality brushes. A big decorator’s brush, scrapers, trowels, old credit cards, a spray bottle of water and my hands are all used to achieve the results I am looking for. Freedom to break the rules, listen to no one, this is all me, no compromises or watering down to fit in.
I think I’ve always been a bit of a rebel, a punk in the eighties, I never really liked authority and I let this come out in my work, I can be impulsive, spontaneous and messy with a disregard for rules.
In 2024 I finally got to take part in the Creative Visionary Program or CVP, a three month online course run by California artist and teacher, Nicholas Wilton. It was a revelation for me to be involved with so many other artists and coaches after being on my own at home painting in solitude for so long! It really made me think about what I wanted to feel about my work and therefore what I wanted my audience to feel when they experience it.
