Women and WashingI remember the exact moment I decided I had to paint a washing line. It was born as I stood outside with the damp sheets flapping gently, the breeze on my skin and bird song around. The quality of light was unique to that moment.
I try to capture all this in my paintings along with a depiction of a part of a woman's experience that unites us across time and nationality. The struggle with wet linen, moments alone outside, contact with your possessions, companionship - endless facets of life. Not forgetting that line drying is the oldest form of alternative energy and has no carbon footprint at all! |
Peonies & other flowersA flower is such a mixture of delicacy and strength- complex and ever-changing with the light and movement of the sun.
I can't exactly describe what I seek to portray when I paint flowers: it is to find some sense of their overwhelming beauty in some way. I only know that it is a constant learning curve and I am getting better at it although I doubt I will ever reach my goal! But that is part of the game you play as an artist - ever-reaching for more insight, more skill - getting closer, ever-closer! |
Life & dance studies
For me - Life studies begin with the model - who she is and
what she communicates to me. Each model becomes the Muse of that moment. Then
there is the utter luscious nature of the body itself - the placing of the
limbs and the glorious luminosity of skin in the light.
Dance and movement are an extension of this - the body purposeful and expressive! |
Malawi & the Gambia
My formative
years were spent in Malawi and my ideas of human beauty were born of skins of
every hue from coppery sheen to deepest blue-toned ebony. Later, in The Gambia,
I fell in love with flowing robes, golden earrings and headgear of high fabric
folds.
As far as landscape is concerned - the sun is a pencil and a brush that splashes brilliance against deep purple shadows. Yet, at dawn and dusk, there can be a palpable softness in the air. |