Indian ink on kaolin-coated board, 12 x 16″ Ostensibly a picture of mature beech trees on a embankment within a wood, anthropomorphism imbues the trees with emotion and character. They could well be on stage, enacting a Shakespeare tragedy or performing Wagner – or they…
Continue reading Epic – SOLD
Pigment inks on kaolin-coated board, 11 x 14 inches. The row of hornbeams viewed through the crook of the end tree. I’ve used a palette based on secondary colours, which has an unearthly feel, echoing the odd angles and shapes thrown by the trees.
There is a minor road in east Hampshire that cuts deep into the bedrock, a route excavated over the years by water and the passge of feet. The stone rises vertically from the edge of the tarmac, and mature trees cling tenaciously to the precipice,…
Continue reading The Dreamer
This quirky group of mature beech trees are on a long, straight woodbank in a local country park. The hollows make for perfect imaginary doorways and I couldn’t resist associating them with the fair folk. The sensible title is Woodland Habitat; the fantastic title is…
Continue reading Woodland Habitat (Fairy Houses)
This piece was done as a demo for Basingstoke Art Club, which I am a member of. I was originally asked to do a short talk on my techniques for the AGM Zoom meeting, but – as I’m not a very confident talker – I…
Continue reading Lean on Me (with video)
These hornbeams, planted in two rows along the edge of a local wood, continue to fascinate and inspire me since I discovered them last autumn. Not one of them seems to be upright; each of them is remarkably characterful, and together they make any number…
Continue reading Conduit
Tenacious holly, with its smooth, pale bark, is a great tree for growing interesting shapes; I can see several fantastic beasts in the roots of this tree. But the overall shape puts me in mind of a tentacled sea monster, floating in a sea of…
Continue reading Tentacular – SOLD
Like many trees growing on the steep cliffs and banks of the sunken road, this ash has extended its root system sideways. The sturdiness of those roots and the way that they disappear into fissures in the bedrock is remarkable and tells of adaptability and…
Continue reading Lateral
I love the twist that sweet chestnut develops as it grows: an elegant russet swirl of a tree, here set off beautifully by the cool lines of its silver birch partner. This is a picture that couldn’t not be made: colour and form and movement…
Continue reading Vortex -SOLD
A narrow, single track road, lower than the fields it travels through, has steep, cliff-like sides, taller than a car, taller than a person. In many places, the pale, chalky bedrock is exposed. Trees grow atop these sides and their roots either delve through fissures…
Continue reading Firmament