About the paintings
The pictures featured here are recent studies. They are done quickly, as a way of keeping a record of my own thinking. The images evolve from free marks which initially have no fixed meaning; at this stage I watch the life of the paint, like watching clouds or oil on water. I am impressed by the autonomy of these so called accidents, tenacious shapes and delicate movements which become embedded in the paper. I see these beginnings as proposals; I regard them for a while and they energize my thoughts; they suggest forms, marks, a motif perhaps and with luck the essential character of the final piece is in place.
Colour and drawing are always in question; I try things out from many sources. The pictorial form tends to dominate my thought even in these informal pieces. But that is hard to put into words. The final pieces look best without glass, but the surfaces are fragile, so glass is needed.
This is not a cohesive series of works. However there are recurrent themes and motifs. People, always central to my work: trees, water, sky, also appear: simple expanses in nature. The landscape motifs reflect my fondness for the coast in Wales, and for enclaves of Wiltshire which have for me immense gravitas, an everyday which is akin to the sacred. I think these mirror and amplify resonant atmospheres which are within me. I hope these aspects get into the studies. The figure is the central motif. There are journeymen and promenade characters. Journeymen are the seekers, those who question. The promenade, a round trip, is courtly, urban, routine; an excursion is made regularly. Thirdly there are witnesses.
There are no specific narratives, but scenarios evolve as the work progresses. No picture relates to the next in narrative sequence, but the formal language, of opacity and transparency, volume and masses, colour presences, is shared in these works.