We live in in such a broken world, and yet there is so much beauty. As though the whole of creation beckons us behind the scenes to an unspoiled time. I believe that if I can draw and paint with integrity my work may just begin to point to this hidden beauty in plain sight.
Therefore I try to sketch and paint what I see. Quite often, as I paint I see subtleties and complexities for the first time. For instance, I had never noticed before that my Jack Russells have fine, white eyelashes. These insights sometimes present themselves in my paintings.
I also believe it is OK to paint beauty but sometimes the mundane and plain has beauty all of it’s own. And sometimes it is good to be faced with the what is painful or unpleasant. Sometimes this is how we can embrace pain.
Life really is an adventure. And the richness of living is reserved for those who set aside the ephemeral comfort of the safe approach to embrace the drama of a life lived at risk. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the world of watercolour where bold colours and wild washes have every chance of failure but every now and then produce remarkable work. This is my quest.
I love painting on site and from life. And I love splashing watecolor washes down, allowing the water and the colour to produce their own magic.
And I mean “love”.
After so many years of colouring within the lines I want my portraits, figures and landscapes, to show this complete and utter lack of fussy carefulness.
