When I am out on a cliff top, in the mountains, or on a beach as the waves crash to the shore, I know that I need to be there to capture the essence and the atmosphere of the environment and the landscape or seascape I am painting. There’s nothing quite like being there in person and really embracing the environment.
However when I’ve been on my travels and have created my plans and initial sketches for my paintings, my favourite place to be to take the painting forward is my studio here in the Cotswolds.
Understanding how the elements make you feel. What can you smell. What can you hear. What colours and textures can you see. Where is the light falling. And perhaps most importantly; how does it make you feel.
The natural landscapes and the unpredictability of the weather here in the British Isles creates the most complex and challenging of environments. And its these environments I most enjoy to explore through oil on board.
From the most northern coastlines of Scotland, all the way down to the beaches of Devon and Cornwall, here I find views to create art to soothe your soul and lift your spirit.
Dreamy landscapes. Wild seascapes. Art to energise and feed your imagination. Art you can lose yourself in for hours.
And it’s when I’m cold and wet and tired out on location that I think longingly of my studio. It’s the perfect antidote to the British weather.
Whether the sun is streaming through the floor to ceiling windows or its lashing down with rain accompanied by gusts of wind, my studio is my calm space.
It’s where I finish my paintings. Adding the final touches. Sitting and observing and absorbing. The gentle melodies from my favourite pieces of music inspire me to add the final brush strokes and details.
Sitting in my chair, painting smock on, the smell of oil paint and the weight of the palette in my hand is my favourite place to be.
If you’d like to understand more about how I paint please click the link and head on over to read my blog on this.
