My residency experience in Iceland prompted not only a shift of interest (towards landscape) but also a creative conversation between traditional painting and time-based media. There is a new film in the pipeline (see News) but most of my studio time has been focused on the development of drawings and paintings from the on-site sketches that I produced in Iceland. It is work that could only be fully realised in retrospect, with reflection. Added to this, my experience of the landscape in Iceland has made me see the landscape of Northumberland (where I live) in a different way i.e. it is now a source of inspiration.

Prior to the trip my artistic concerns were quite different. My interests were current affairs – see the last (inverted) image below, Postcard of the Hanging; and, to a lesser extent, the re-interpretation of the work of ‘classic’ artists – also below (and also inverted), Roaming Rubens. 

Melt: pastel on paper

Gush: mixed media on paper

Dash: pastel on paper.

Flash: mixed media on paper.

Roaming Rubens: mixed media on paper.

Postcard of the Hanging: pastel on paper.

Whoosh: oil on canvas.

Meltdown: acrylic and oil on canvas