ARCHIVE

THE BEAUTY OF MOTHS

It is easy to dismiss moths as drab and dreary. But many of these insects of the night are anything but. Drawing on many happy evenings watching moths in the back garden, I have been working on a series of paintings showing the amazing diversity and vibrant colours that many British species have.

CHILDHOOD

I very much enjoy drawing the figure and since becoming a parent, I have been fascinated by the idea of capturing the joy of childhood, particularly new or well-loved experiences. By using a different perspective I hoped to make these paintings more immersive, so that the viewer can recognise their own memories in the moment.

NATURE MORTE

Driving to work across the Fen landscape is a very moving experience. With vast skies and huge swathes of farmland divided by long grey roads, those journeys seem to me to encapsulate the relationship between man and nature. My drive is surrounded by beauty, but whilst the roads transport us from A to B with the minimum effort, they have the maximum environmental cost. The animals seen by the side of our roads serve as a reminder of this dangerous relationship. It is not so much the death of an innocent animal that is poignant, but the lack of a genuine connection with nature. For some, our only contact with the local wildlife on a daily basis is from the isolating shell of a car and at worst, it is the roadkill that finally grabs the attention. Pollution is currently the biggest threat to our environment. The stability of our environment is essential to the survival of our species, as well as those around us. This Still Life body of work is for me an old tradition with a contemporary twist; a symbol of the need for change. ‘Still Life’ as an artistic tradition dates back at least as far as the ancient Egyptians and provides a record of the flora and fauna which has sustained us. Whilst he earliest images of animals appear in prehistoric cave paintings, the French actually use the term ‘nature morte’ or ‘dead nature’ to describe their still life. It is fascinating how reactive people have been about this project, clearly imagining being confronted by grisly roadkill. My concept for the work has been the exact opposite. Wildlife is beautiful up close and my whole purpose was to capture this in the paintings; to describe the scale and texture of the animals. I have been photographing roadkill for four years in order to paint from images that have a peaceful stillness about them.