Explore and read about my six collections.
Impermanence, Vocal Solace, Intuituve Drift, Raw Edges, Flourishing, Spring from Winter
All paintings and collages in each collection can be viewed in my shop.
IMPERMANENCE
Walking or cycling through beautiful countryside always makes my heart and soul sing. In 2023, I was privileged to experience the magical wonder of Slovenia in this way.
I believe that these large paintings emerged from that journey as the colour palette is rich with the hues of summer skies, verdant hills, majestic mountains, fertile wild flower meadows and fields, and turquoise rivers, lakes and streams.
The sweep of contrasting stripes and lines suggests to me the passing of all the moments that constituted my Slovenian adventure.
One can recall the past and imagine the future. But one’s lived experience is only in the present moment. The collective moments of a lifetime are transient, brief and fleeting but how incredibly fortunate one is to be able to journey between them.
VOCAL SOLACE
These paintings were created after having a traumatic life experience. Their development was part of my healing process.
They are inspired by the classical songs of the early twentieth century English composer, Frank Bridge, and include texts by Shakespeare, Shelley, Keats, Tennyson, Yeats, Whitman and Tagore.
As a professional singer, Bridge’s songs were formative pieces while studying as a young soprano. I wanted to express, in paint, the emotions I was experiencing as I listened to the songs. For me, the songs seem to be seeking spiritual consolation, something for which I was also searching.
They are the most subdued, tender and fragile works I have produced to date. They helped me to commit to, and accept my shifting identities. They showed me that incredible growth can come from difficult challenges.
The titles are lines from the poems that resonated with both me and the finished paintings.
INTUITIVE DRIFT
Observation and measurement. The physical, scientific world. They have advanced civilisation at a remarkable pace.
But what about the non-physical aspects of ourselves, those things that can’t be observed or measured?
These paintings consider the nature of the intuitive soul. How, if we choose to listen, our intuition may reveal things in non-physical form that are unforeseeable or without reason.
RAW EDGES
These paintings explore different aspects of what an edge is: the border, brim or margin of a surface or object; the place or line where something stops or something new is about to happen; the boundaries that edges create; what requires definition at the edges of language and conversation; what waits to be unveiled at the limits and thresholds of life.
Look into the heart of these paintings – can you see the reflection of your raw edges?
FLOURISHING
These abstract collages were started during a motorhome travel adventure through Bavaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy and along a section of the Rhine. This trip came after two years of uncertainty following a life changing experience. It was the first time that I really felt my confidence returning as I took to the hills and roads by foot and on bike. Joy returned to my life and I was flourishing once more!
I used collage papers, made in my studio, and ephemera I collected along the way. The many layers, colours, shapes and marks truly reflect the feelings and emotions I experienced on my journey. I never have an expected outcome for my artworks but I can see the influence of magnificent mountains, sparkling emerald and turquoise rivers, summer skies, ancient edifices, baroque and gothic interiors, great food and wine and so much more.
SPRING FROM WINTER
The idea for these small abstract collages emerged from the decision to do a motorhome tour of southern Spain in March 2024.
Collaging is perfect for travelling. It requires papers, pens, pencils, scissors, glue and substrates, all of which fit neatly into a travel box. Plus, there’s no paint for me to spill on the furniture….
I made a varied collection of papers using acrylic paints and various application techniques during the cold winter months in my studio, the Creative Cave, in the Scottish Highlands.
I used lots of warm, bright, vibrant colours against the backdrop of long nights, grey, wet, cold days and a few snowstorms.
The collages are snapshots of my emotional response to the trip and they sing of the joy, beauty, history, culture, warmth, novelty, discovery, and absolute pleasure that I encountered.
