My paintings document my interest in the theme of life and death and the changing state between them. I am particularly interested in the natural world as seasons bring change, and the various stages of its cycle, as natural forms die, decompose and regrow.
My work has been influenced by abscission, the process of shedding old or unwanted organs such as leaves or flowers that start to decompose as new life grows through and around them.
I am also exploring the cultural symbolism of flowers and wreaths in funerals. I am currently making paintings influenced by decaying wreaths and flowers on graves, which decompose and return to the ground.
I explore rhythm, repetition, shape, pattern and colour within these changing forms. I am particularly interested in the juxtaposition of one colour next to, or over, another and investigating the threshold between abstraction and representation. The paintings are a non-literal representation of a number of visual and emotional experiences of the landscape in response to both photographs, drawings and memory. Overpainting and drawing into the painting allows the work to keep changing and the image to emerge, much like the changing landscape. Drawing and mark making is an important part of the process and many of the initial marks are visible.
