It has always been true for me that there is a spiritual side to the making of my paintings. Not easy to describe with words but I know that the process within I pursue my ideas and the peacefulness with which I pursue them, are very much linked to meditation. After painting for the entire morning (and having completed two new paintings), my step is lighter and happier, and I am ready and willing for whatever the afternoon brings me.
Currently, I have been exploring a pond near to my new studio in Manchester for the focus of the subject of my work. I like the idea of pilgramming out to a specific space with the intention to commune with it. I want to deeply engage with the forms, colors, and the subtle and dramatic changes occurring within them.
For a number of years, my artistic work responded directly to my creative writing. That created a nice bridge between my thoughts and my art practice, but what was I to do when I lost my words? Thats where I've been. Without my own words. For whatever reason, they have not been able to surface so I have been reconnecting with poets work I admire or find inspires that connection with the visual I am searching for. I think Mary Oliver's connection to nature is remarkable. She uses it as a metaphor for speaking to how you ought to live your life - and I really understand how she asks the reader to slow down and look at the world. I want viewers to engage with my paintings in the same way, to draw relationships with our natural world, and feel their poetry.
