TREES, FORESTS AND WOODLANDS - RURAL INTERIORS
My love of nature extends into the wooded areas of the Sussex Downland and wilder parts of countryside. Walking through forests with the light often only glimpsed through the canopy overhead evokes a quiet, intimate response. Thus I have come to think of these images as woodland interiors. Many of the paintings in this series involve the use of an easel and therefore rely on a variety of mark making to form the image.
Walking through the forest in the early morning just after dawn, the blue sky appears through the canopy overhead. Light scatters on the floor and life reawakens. The use of masque pen shows the pattern of light reflecting on tree branches and then paint applied wet on wet to give the impression of light entering the woodland interior. Pastel layers of colour reflect translucent foliage and light brown marks show the movement of trees in the breeze.
FOREST DAYBREAK - DOWNLAND FOREST SUSSEX
WATERCOLOUR 2012
FOREST DAYBREAK - DOWNLAND FOREST SUSSEX
WATERCOLOUR 2012
This recent watercolour was painted on a easel after the initial composition was marked out with masque pen. Different brushstrokes were used to show the variety of forms of undergrowth and foliage in this copse. It is a small scale composition transformed into a large painting which emphasises the intimate nature of a woodland interior. The view is of a 'room' inside the forest and one that lets in the light. The 3D effect gives the impression that the onlooker can take a step into the lush undergrowth and strike out into the unknown woodland.
WOODLAND COPSE - LITTLE OUSE HEADWAYS PROJECT- NORFOLK
WATERCOLOUR 2013
WOODLAND COPSE - LITTLE OUSE HEADWAYS PROJECT- NORFOLK
WATERCOLOUR 2013
This is an imaginative piece which grew out of a drawing of a tree overhanging a lake at Sheffield Park. The huge variety of wonderful trees gives rise to many sculptural forms and thus inspires the artistic response.
The form of this tree was inverted from landscape to profile for the purpose of this piece and the backdrop purely imaginary. The reference to Japanese woodcuts is visible hopefully as it was inspired by the book I was reading whilst painting it - the beautiful prose of Tan Twan Eng in "The Garden of Evening Mists". Trees are enigmatic and sacred; all with a life of their own - they choose their own place and time.
SACRED TREE - WATERCOLOUR 2013
The form of this tree was inverted from landscape to profile for the purpose of this piece and the backdrop purely imaginary. The reference to Japanese woodcuts is visible hopefully as it was inspired by the book I was reading whilst painting it - the beautiful prose of Tan Twan Eng in "The Garden of Evening Mists". Trees are enigmatic and sacred; all with a life of their own - they choose their own place and time.
SACRED TREE - WATERCOLOUR 2013