My subject is rich in history and meaning, it is both resilient and profoundly fragile. Making art is my way of praying for its future, of loving it, of thanking it, of being connected. I want to do more than simply record the beauty of nature, and by combining accuracy of detail with poetic representation and a conceptual background aim to explore deeper themes.
Scotland is rich in wild flowers and Physic Gardens, and it is here that I find much of my inspiration. Painting and drawing are at the heart of my practise, though I have also incorporated text, textiles, sound and film in artworks. My work is informed by research into my subject and by the work of other creative people, such as the Victorian botanical artist Mary Delany, the colour and energy of Winifred Nicholson’s paintings, the ideas of plant energy and our relationship to nature written about by Stephen Buhner and Robin Wall Kimmerer.
The latest from the blog
‘Diod Anfarwaldeb’ – A Recipe for Immortality
You will be able to see this painting and the preparatory sketches at my next Open Studios event on 8th, 9th and 10th May 2020. This recently completed painting is called 'Diod Anfarwaldeb - The Draught of Immortality’, inspired by an ancient herbalist recipe for long...
‘Floragraphy’… a romantic offering
Buttercup : 'Radiance' - Your splendour shines like the sun ‘Floragraphy’ is the practical application of flower symbolism. Belonging to a more romantic age than ours, it uses flowers to convey meaning. Today modern technology offers texting, snapchat, all sorts of...
Yellow Flowers
There is something very spiritually uplifting about the radiance of yellow flowers, the energy with which the colour hits the back of your eye seems hard to capture. I love this quote from Winifred Nicolson about painting yellow flowers, one of my favourite painters,...