My Process

“I like to start a painting by covering the white canvas with water and colour. I use watered down acrylic inks to loosely cover the background. When this is dry I start the painting using acrylic paints thinned with a fluid retarder, not water.  I use thicker paint as the picture progresses. I work with brushes, palette knives, sharpened sticks or whatever comes to hand.

I work from sketches, and photographs but change the landscape and colours as I wish. I prefer to work on several paintings at the same time and it’s often months before I’m satisfied that a painting is finished.”

Tree bark drawings  

“I spend time on my walks taking photographs of tree bark. I use these for the drawings but may turn the them upside down or on the side. Tree bark is so varied and versatile that anything works. I put small areas of colour on the paper first using Inktense water colour pencils or blocks but leave most of the paper white.  I use various tools for the bark, including special graphite pencils, pens, fine brushes, sticks, soft pastels and oil pastels.”