After I retired from teaching I was able to work from a single subject day by day over sustained periods. My chosen subjects were either particular places, which could be observed on a season by season basis, or individual plants, which could be portrayed from growth to decay. As a result, my drawings and paintings have formed sometimes long sequences that seek to convey not only particular moments but also the transience of the world around us. Quite a lot of my sketchbook pages are devoted to portraying the ocean which—for me at least—epitomises the forces of life and death underpinning this transience.
Over the years I’ve been increasingly attracted to working in sketchbooks, partly because, by going from the first page to the last, I can convey an impression of the passage of time. Some of my subjects are depicted directly from observation. Some of them derive from memories or notes on what I’ve seen. Others originate from photos or short videos.
Unlike most painters, I don’t regard my sketchbooks as starting points for canvases or other larger works of art. For me, the sketchbooks are the destination.
After I retired from teaching I was able to work from a single subject day by day over sustained periods. My chosen subjects were either particular places, which could be observed on a season by season basis, or individual plants, which could be portrayed from growth to decay. As a result, my drawings and paintings have formed sometimes long sequences that seek to convey not only particular moments but also the transience of the world around us. Quite a lot of my sketchbook pages are devoted to portraying the ocean which—for me at least—epitomises the forces of life and death underpinning this transience.
Over the years I’ve been increasingly attracted to working in sketchbooks, partly because, by going from the first page to the last, I can convey an impression of the passage of time. Some of my subjects are depicted directly from observation. Some of them derive from memories or notes on what I’ve seen. Others originate from photos or short videos.
Unlike most painters, I don’t regard my sketchbooks as starting points for canvases or other larger works of art. For me, the sketchbooks are the destination.
