From the first moment I saw St Ives I wanted to work there. It seemed to me the perfect location, surrounded by ocean on one side and ancient landscape on the other. I eventually managed to secure a small studio in an old sail loft at the end of Porthmeor Beach. This allowed me to gain a foothold in the town and after a few years I was lucky enough to obtain a much large space in the same complex. Being here really allowed my painting practice to develop. The wide, open horizons create a great sense of space, something which I believe influences St Ives painters just as much as the intense light often referred to.
There is something magical about being in such close contact with the sea. This edge where land meets ocean was my main focus and I became more aware of elemental forces. The large storms that would often sweep in through the winter months would beat against my studio walls, the waves shaking it will a deep thud. This intense energy began to influence my mark making and encouraged me to use larger brushes and more paint. As I followed this journey the horizon gradually disappeared creating a greater sense of abstraction. All of my work has a direct starting point in nature but now the information became more stilled, simplified. Circular forms often appeared suggesting rolling waves, sun, moon or rocks.
The incredibly intense light of St Ives also had a profound impact and my colour palette revolved much more around primary colours. Energetic, textured areas of paint were often balanced with carefully applied lines representing the edge of a cliff or line of a sandy beach. The handling of the paint at certain points now included a more urgent application, with splatters and poured colour.
I soon became associated with the next generation of St Ives painters. The canvas ‘Shine’ was included in the exhibition Art Now Cornwall at Tate St Ives in 2007.
Shine. 76x91cm oil on canvas 2006