As a child I spent whole days painting and drawing on in solitude in my room. I left school as soon as I could and enrolled on a two year foundation course with A level subjects – all art based. It was an idyllic time for me. The art disciplines were all taught by practising artists, which was a great benefit. Between 1982 and 1985 I trained as a printmaker in Manchester. My work at this time was figurative and in my last year at college I had two pieces exhibited in the Whitworth Young Contemporaries Exhibition. This gave me a number of contacts and commissions for portraits.

For a short period of time I taught further education painting, drawing and printmaking and, after having my daughter in 1987, I trained as a teacher and spent the next twelve years combining a teaching career with my main love of painting. I have been fortunate to have always worked with colleagues who also continue to produce artwork. This has been a vital aspect of my development as a practitioner. Sharing ideas and practical knowledge with other artists is invaluable. I believe that in art, education never stops. There is always more to learn.

During the last few years of my teaching career I continued to paint with increasing frustration at how little time I had in which to create substantial work. As a result of this I decided to greatly reduce my teaching commitments in order to concentrate on my artwork. Fortunately the risk paid off and within a short space of time I was exhibiting and selling work through a number of galleries and outlets. I have never been happier and I am now able to spend whole days painting in my studio. It is strange how life can come full circle.

I am particularly drawn to areas of flat open countryside or shorelines. The simplicity of ribbons of land and sky, divided by hedges and roads that appear as visual scars across the landscape, provide the structure for my paintings. I live on the Cheshire Plain and my long narrow paintings are inspired by the flatness of the local landscape.

In this type of environment it is natural to scan the horizon, as there are few vertical shapes to interrupt the view. The panoramic nature of the paintings is an attempt to emulate this sensation.

I walk everyday and the way in which the views change is a constant source of fascination to me. The hues of the sky and land fluctuate according to time and season. The effects of weather and light provide both harmony and contrast of colour. The land often appears to be reflected in the sky and conversely a strong sky can tint the earth. The bands of sky, earth and sea can be clearly delineated or the layers can merge and diffuse into each other.

Since childhood I have visited the Wirral coastline regularly where the beaches are flat and expansive. Acres of sea grasses and marshland stretch between the sea and the shore. The paintings of this environment are more linear than my rural work. I enjoy their simplicity and the feeling of endless space.

The work of other artists will always be an inspiration to me. From the simple Italian landscapes of Lorenzetti’s Allegory of Good and Bad Government to the powerful compositions of Diebenkorn’s representation of the Californian coast. Visiting galleries is a personal preoccupation and the Turner wing of the Tate Gallery is a particular source of inspiration. I am drawn to artists who use colour as a primary concern – Rothko’s layering of colour on colour and Bonnard’s dappled gentle hues both have the ‘tingle’ factor for me.

Each painting starts from reference material collected whilst out walking in the landscape. Drawings, notes and photographs all help to inform the work. The majority of work is based on the area in which I live and on nearby coastlines although I have also produced pieces from travels around the UK. I am drawn to expanses of open ground. The interest lies not in the detail, but in the colour and texture of the piece. Time and weather are a vital factor as these both control the dramatic potential of the work. The structure of a painting always comes first. I begin by building up the layers of the landscape. The divisions made by the scene’s boundaries provide the definition to the painting.

Printmaking techniques play a major role in my paintings. The methods and techniques I previously used with relief printing and etching are very much in evidence in the work I produce on board. The pieces are scored, scratched and gouged before gesso is applied. The canvases are prepared with stitch before they are stretched and primed. Colour is added in layers; it is rubbed, scumbled and glazed over the textured base. As in intaglio the colour collects in the incised and scored surface. It is the layering that gives the colour its intensity. Colour is chosen to depict either space or mood. It can be intensified or exaggerated according to the intention of the piece.
As I usually work in oil each piece requires long drying intervals and on summer days I tend to hang my paintings, in a rather unconventional way, on the washing line to dry as this speeds up the drying time. Due to the time it takes each piece to dry it is necessary to work on ten to twenty pieces at any given time in order to have at least three available for painting.

A typical painting day for me starts at around 7am. It begins with a walk with my partner Gary and our dogs Rory and Oscar. The landscape changes every day according to the season and the weather. The seasonal and weather changes are noted.

By 8.30am I am usually in the car taking my daughter Jessica to school. Finally by 9.30am I can hide away in my studio in the garden and begin to paint. The dogs will be playing in the garden in front of my window. The space I have to work in is quite small so drawings and photographs of the scenes I am working on are stuck on the wall near to my table. Works that are drying are hung on the other walls or laid out on top of the plan chest and bench. The only available clear space is my worktable and I have to be disciplined to keep it clean.

On a good day I can continue working until 7pm. Gary and Jessica are my first port of call when I need an opinion about my work. They are usually around at this time and when the weather is good we’ll sit on the bench outside the studio, have a drink and watch the sun sink down.