As a Sussex based artist my painting style has evolved to be quite reflective of the landscapes I see around me. The style does not really fit a particular category but could be called semi-abstract, contemporary or 'messy art nouveau' (as one of my buyers once described it).

The inspiration for most of my paintings occurs as I am walking. I often find interesting things and look them up when I get home. Old mill ponds, strange church carvings, sections of Roman roads, relics from the iron and charcoal industries, ancient farm buildings and strangely named roads such as Rabies Heath Lane, Terrible Down, Titty Hill etc. all have their stories. The Devil’s Dyke is a well-known place with a legend and was allegedly made by the devil trying to dig a channel to the sea so he could flood some Christian villages. They all add other dimensions to the landscape that I find fascinating.

I recently began to use an ordinance survey phone app, which changed my life once I'd eventually learnt how to use it, as it enables me to go anywhere and be able to choose my own routes without getting lost (I once got lost in an acre of woodland for two hours). Then, when I am back in the studio, I paint my impressions from memory of the ‘echoes’ I got from a specific place. This is an interesting process as I never really know what I am going to paint until I start. I will then find hazy imprints on my memory being revealed on the canvas.

Included here are my 5 favourite paintings made after visiting 5 of my favourite places in 2021. They make me happy all over again whenever I look at them as they have a flavour that reflects that time, that place, that season and whatever creatures I saw on the way…

The first above is called The Enchanted and was inspired by a walk along the Adur river near Amberley

A Lingering Magic, made after a wet Ouse river walk near Lewes and Echo of an English Summer inspired by the Burwash area

Coming Home, made after a cliff walk near Eastbourne and Hart of the Green Wood, after Cowdray area near Turners Hill