Drawing is the basis of all my work. The birds and hares are glimpses of journeys, part real, part imaginary in which I try to capture the feeling and emotion of a particular place or time. The hares in particular evoke childhood memories of seeing the animals running wild in the sand dunes. The individual quality of the marks and layers of texture are an integral part of both my paintings and the prints. The bird paintings continue to be inspired by the wonderful colours and embroidery of traditional woven textiles, particularly those from India, and the subtle decorative quality of Persian miniature paintings with their flattened perspective and intricate borders.
The collagraph prints explore the relationship between everyday objects that have been used over time and handed down, sometimes through generations, and the invisible threads that connect us to the past. They depict things that surround me every day, a worn wooden spoon, a striped sugar bowl or the beautiful but battered red lacquer sewing box that belonged to my Grandmother, my Mother and now me, that shows all the marks of it’s constant use.
All of my prints are inked and printed by hand using a traditional etching press, and are usually in small editions of between five and twenty prints, depending on the complexity of the plate. I am constantly striving to capture the expressive marks of my paintings in my printmaking.
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