“In a time of increasing environmental (and more recent economic) uncertainty, the landscapes and natural objects I like to paint are taking on another layer of meaning for me. My work has become increasingly about processing grief, or just celebrating the beauty of the little things. 

Whatever lay ahead, it has also become about trying to find acceptance of this constantly moving new normal, embracing the freedoms I have for now and getting up every morning, making the most of the days, and doing something positive.

I moved a couple of years ago to live in a small town, being surrounded by city culture that celebrates newer, bigger and more had finally become too much. Watching ever increasing environmental destruction in the name of progress is heart breaking. Born into this system, we are all hypocrites on some level and I am certainly aware of my own contribution to the environmental predicament we are all now faced with. The more I follow the science, the worse it reads, and it’s clear that anything I do will never be enough, but it won’t stop me trying.

I find myself looking for solace in what I believe are end times for many species including humans. Lately my grief has transformed into a flawed acceptance, it dips back into frustration and anger at times. This acceptance has enabled me to think about how I choose to be in the face of this. It has bought about a sense of freedom, and even joy which is something I never expected.

Days are more precious and being outside listening to the birds is bliss. Given that all activity needs resources it can be hard to know what to best do with each day, so for now it’s painting with the resources I have left, gardening, and planting trees.

Creative work starts by looking past the human activity covering everything, until I find a piece of nature that pulls me in and makes me want to paint. The subject might just be a small thing – like a feather other times a landscape. It is easy to get lost in the shapes and curves of land, sea and sky, and I feel an increasing need to include star windows into paintings. These windows represent the holes left behind from that which we are losing or have already lost. Adding stars to paintings brings an overwhelming sense of relief,  a reminder that the Earth will heal herself, with or without us – she’s done it before, she’ll do it again.”