A Strong Sense of Place
I am fascinated by the relationships people have with where they live. As Robert Macfarlane says, in his book 'The Old Ways - A Journey on Foot', I seek out "the subtle ways in which we are shaped by the landscapes in which we move."
Clearly, A strong 'sense of place' underlies my artistic expression. My feelings of attachment to, and growing appreciation for, the particular geography, geology, flora, fauna, history and culture of New Brunswick have been enlarged by my interactions with its landscape. My paintings and prints are personal artistic responses to these experiences.
These paintings are not imaginary or metaphoric but rather interpretive studies that attempt to capture the dynamic and resonant reality of my own East Coast experiences. While often drawing on elements from the past, my paintings are artistic portrayals of a particular moment in time. By capturing this seemingly immutable present, my paintings also hint at the uncertain consequences brought on by the changes that inevitably happen to a place over time. The unspoken question they raise is: What will this place be like in ten, fifteen, fifty, or a hundred years?
Painting The forms and motifs I find locally in both natural and built landscapes, allows me to explore and develop fascinating patterns of light, shade, tone, texture, perspective, reflection and colour.
Leonardo da Vinci, who knew a thing or two about the subject, believed that painting involved all 10 attributes of sight: darkness & light, solidity & colour, distance & nearness, form & position and movement & rest.
When I paint, I am aware of all of these and until they are dealt with, a painting is not complete.
"The two questions we should ask of any strong landscape are these:
Firstly, what do I know when I am in this place that I know nowhere else?
And then, vainly, what does this place know of me that I cannot know of myself?"
- Robert Macfarlane, The Old Ways – A Journey on Foot
