Tennyson’s monument sits tall at the uppermost part of Tennyson Downs in the west of the Isle of Wight. I lived close to these downs and in my youth and would walk for hours with the family dogs. Within those times I found both tranquility and exhilaration – an almost tangible sense of security in my solitude which I still find today within the landscape.
Moving forward thirty or so years and I find myself in New Zealand with its incredible landscape; rugged, vast but again I have found a tranquility and peace…here lays my ‘why’ – the reason I paint the landscape in a semi-abstracted way. It is my intention to capture those feelings, it is not about true representation but finding a tangible sense of both peace and energy within the work.
Footpaths, rivers, contours of the hills – all contain significant place within my work. I see the land extend to the horizon and onward. I endeavour to create a visual space/place to walk, to sit, where the only distraction is the warm breeze and birdsong.
Lately I have pondered my need to paint and draw – to be an artist even though it’s been more than 25 years since I took myself seriously, and what that offers a community. Is it a worthy enough occupation to steadfastly pursue? Well, it is the only true and honest gift I can give, that sense of freedom, solitude and energy for those that find it within my work. I will continue to create even if I only make a difference in one person’s day – I cannot stop.
These photos do not do the local landscape justice, but I am sure you can see why this landscape inspires me to capture those moments of tranquility and quiet energy. New Zealand is vast and it’s land mass(s) powerful and unyielding. Combining my childhood experience of the landscape and that of New Zealand, will I am sure, inspire me well into my 6th decade on this amazing planet…here’s hoping I have that privilege.
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