My core of my artistic expression is found in the mesmerizing colors and textures of sea, sky and shoreline, and the observed world. The forms of nature provide an endless source of inspiration, some observed close up; others from far away. In my paintings, the forms and patterns take on a life of their own, resulting in the transformation of an observed physical landscape into an inner landscape of my mind.
Over the years, I have been drawn to remote places such as Newfoundland, Patagonia, and the Noatak River area of Alaska--all of which attracted me with their rock- and boulder-strewn shorelines, an endless sky and remoteness from the rest of the world. The Jurassic coasts of Dorset and Yorkshire in the UK have provided me with inspiration with their dramatic, fossil-strewn cliffs. More recently, my painting has been drawn to the landscapes of the Lake District (Cumbria) and Morecambe Bay. Annual visits to Martha's Vineyard, where surfcasting has meant much more than just catching a striper or blue for dinner, but instead has helped me find those elusive connections between sea and sky, human and fish, the here and now and the world beyond. But, sometimes inspiration is found closer to home. A frozen river, pond or view from my garden. And sometimes farther from home, as a view from 33,000 feet over the dramatic arid deserts of the southwest and snow-strewn Rocky mountains. The possibilities are endless …
Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) pretty much summed up my goal as an artist: "I don't want petty self-expression. I want the elemental, infinite thing; I want to paint the rhythm of eternity."
This is in memory of my dear brother-in-law Ian, who passed away this last October. On my visits to Baycliff (Cumbria), we walked this path many times down to the shores of Morecambe Bay. This captures some of my nicest memories.