About Paintings
I paint landscapes in oils - places visited and places imagined. On this website there are two galleries, "Landscapes" (Scenes from France, Sussex, Egypt, New Zealand, etc), and the imaginary world of Oputia, "Postcards From Oputia."
Postcard From Oputia
Techniques
The paintings in my “Postcard From Oputia” series are in oils on board – using this robust surface makes it easier to scrape back layers of paint to edit and amend, allowing semi - random combinations of tone, colour and line to suggest new and sometimes surprising directions. Often inspired by dreams, these paintings are an exploration of a Utopian imaginary world, not only the scenery but an investigation of the culture, mores and sometimes whimsical notions of the Oputians. The default title of “Postcard From Oputia: xxxx” gives me the freedom to explore every aspect of the imagined; by turns surreal, disingenuous, naive or comic, but rooted in classic techniques and vocabularies of landscape painting, referencing themes of exploration and illustration from the past.
The starting point for a painting could be a temporary collage of cut-up sections of old paintings; I have a library of coloured and textured pieces to play with - these are arranged and re-arranged and a drawing is made of the result.
Or, a small 3-dimensional tableau is assembled in the studio - a miniature landscape of model figures, plants, shells and found objects. Sometimes a painting is started directly from this inspiration - oil paint applied in bold impasto with the palette knife or maybe the approach is more tentative with drawings and watercolours to explore the idea. With the application and manipulation of oil paint the painting comes to life and takes its own path. Sometimes that will trigger another memory or idea and point in a certain direction - one painting leads to another.
My training and studies in the classic techniques and vocabularies of landscape painting helps me to render the imaginary real, using pattern, rhythm, tone and colour applied in a traditional way but serving to reveal a new fantastic reality.
Please click the Singulart link at the foot of the page to go directly to my online sales site. Please send me a message from the contact page for more information or any enquiries about sales or commissions.
Sales
Landscapes
Exhibitions Include:
The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Fulham Palace Art Fair
The September Art Exhibition
Pure Arts Group
Avery Contemporary Art
Society Graphic Fine Art
Parallax 2
Llewellyn Alexander Gallery
The Spa Gallery, Tunbridge Wells
South East Open Studios
Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks
Cranbrook Art Exhibition
Saffron Gallery, Battle
Prelude, Spitalfields, London
Tunbridge Wells Art Gallery
Canterbury Art Festival
Maidstone County Gallery
Hertfordshire Art Fair
Prizewinner at Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust Exhibition
Selected for "artist magazine" national show, Patchings, Nottinghamshire