My personal statement

My work is about conveying the essence of the Dorset coastline in Lyme Regis with its huge skies and expanses of seas. I get a great feeling of freedom and peacefulness that stays with me and arouses my senses inspiring me to paint. I remain focused on the other sensory elements of the harbour/seaside experience with the blowing wind and familiar sounds to begin my work. By the degree of simplification I am able to reduce what I see and hear into shapes and marks and the combination of material and techniques that I use a more naturally abstract result is achieved. I choose to use a limited palette of colour usually from the same ‘tonal family’ which is aided by a colour paper “palette” of torn everyday scraps of paper that have a constant ready mixed tone and density, creating a sense of harmony and tonal value. I progress on to concentrate on the space between forms, and edges and boundaries in my work that I can then create new work from. By keeping detail to the minimum and concentrating more on the sense of place I try to express the atmosphere evoking a particular memory but also allowing for an emphasis on personal interpretation from being by the coast.