Recent Body of Work in Fluid Acrylic

My work is based on lived experience. This wetlands suite of large mixed media acrylic on canvas paintings features the Elsinore Swamp located just north of Southampton. My summers are spent teaching and plein air painting in this area. The marsh provides such variety of texture that I find It necessary to use a limited palette for each piece as I attempt to capture mood or temperature. As outdoor painters, our favourite saying is “if you don’t like the weather, wait 20 minutes!”

Watercolour

For my work in watercolour, I generally use landscape or floral fragments to explore design and shape executed in a vibrant palette. I am challenged to blend quilt patterning, stained glass and computer imagery into a very personal contemporary statement.

a) Quilts Residing in Waterloo County, I have been influenced by the cultural importance of the quilting tradition. These flat patterns of colour and shape both fascinate and excite me. Recently, the colour-wash method of quilt making has influenced my watercolours.

b) Stained Glass After working in close proximity with a stained glass artist, I have been influenced by this art form. Stained glass relies on the interplay of flat shapes of glistening transparent colour to create images. This art form continues to be a very strong influence as it makes up an important component of my school's arts department.

c) Computer Art Teaching computer art to students, and watching them create art within defined pixels of computer colour and shape has been a further influence. It is stylized pixels that is the most recognizable computer influence in my work. Even the use of computer languages for painting titles has become a habit!

If asked "where does your subject matter come from?" my response very simply would be that I work from lived experience. My farm background plays a key role in almost all of my work, from the garden florals and other agricultural-based imagery to the beach scenes. Each relates to my childhood and strong family connections to Kent County.

My watercolours are occasionally mixed with Caran d'ache watercolour crayons on watercolour paper of various sizes. Most recently I have explored the impact and strength of fragmented landscape memories, punctuated by colour or black and white photocopied photograph reproductions. The use of mixed media such as latex paint, and metal with watercolour further enhances some of my work.