Inspired by nature, I paint detailed images of birds, fish and other wildlife on pieces of driftwood collected from beaches after storms. I live in central Dorset, with easy access to the magnificent Jurassic Coast.
I started painting on driftwood in 2000 whilst living near the tidal mudflats of North Essex. I was drawn to the idea of using found objects, used and discarded by man, altered by the power of sea with the wind and sun, and made into something different. I thought about the processes and the journey, so much of it unknown. I was struck by the thought that each piece was part of something once alive with another story, another journey.
I have always loved landscape and wildlife and birds in particular so it became for me a natural progression to place images of creatures on to the linear patterns in the wood, this background suggesting the timeless landscape of mudflats, sand ripples, the edges of shores, and the furrows and contours of fields and hills. The creatures pause on the pieces, waiting to move on.
I started painting on driftwood in 2000 whilst living near the tidal mudflats of North Essex. I was drawn to the idea of using found objects, used and discarded by man, altered by the power of sea with the wind and sun, and made into something different. I thought about the processes and the journey, so much of it unknown. I was struck by the thought that each piece was part of something once alive with another story, another journey.
I have always loved landscape and wildlife and birds in particular so it became for me a natural progression to place images of creatures on to the linear patterns in the wood, this background suggesting the timeless landscape of mudflats, sand ripples, the edges of shores, and the furrows and contours of fields and hills. The creatures pause on the pieces, waiting to move on.