Artist and landscape architect

I am an artist concerned with land and our cultural heritage; how we perceive and use the land, how to communicate this and how to create conversations open to all artists, ecologists and community groups. I am an enthusiastic educator and practitioner, and work both on site and in my studio. I work in watercolour and oil paint and much of my work is commissioned.

Paintings in oil on canvas

Painting from enviable studios in both Flanders and Scotland, is a process of creating relationships with the landscape, how they have been formed and how they are born of light and seasons. My paintings take many months, some a year or more, to accurately assimilate the sense of place. I spent 3 years producing 1500 daily oil pastel sketches, of the the same view under various weather conditions, seasons and times of day. This resulted in an obsessive collection of time, space, perspective, colour and light, bound into five A6 sektech books.

We are of the landscape and this conversation, for me, encompasses ecology, landuse and a sense of geological time to understand presence, both of us and the land.

Flemish Landscapes 2012-2018

Living in a flat landscape has perceptual challenges that can be disorientating. I adored painting the nuances of the seasons, the bright moss and lichen on trees in winter, the fluffy greens in the summer. I cycled for years throughout Vlaams Brabant, racking up all those mini oil pastels and watercolour sketches which formed an invaluable part of my large scale studio practice.

This body of work was exhibited in the Lakken Halle, a Heritage Builidng in the medieval city of Zoutleeuw, once used for weaving. The show coincided with the opening of the tourist season. and formed an integral part of the Blossom Festival, in an area now known for fruit growing.

My work, wherever I live, reflects the land, its' textures, and its' uses, in this case, weaving together the strands of life in Flemish Brabant.

Botanical illustrations

I have been practicing this discipline since I graduated in 1993 and received the Geoffrey Bawa Scholarship from to study in Sri Lanka. As artist in residence in Brief Garden and Museum, I drew and painted plants to identify them for conservation purposes. Pen, ink and watercolour were my chosen mediums, on heavy rag cotton watercolour paper of archival quality. Tropical climates warrant this treatment. I have continued to paint in botanical gardens in India, UK, Australia and Belgium. Being self taught, I have developed a style of my own, which is true to life, but happily contravenes the stricter rules of Botanical Illustration. I study the botanical artists from 1600 onwards, with glee, and I derive inspiration for especially composition.