I've painted for as long as I can remember, but I'm sort of an artist/engineer.
Good at art and sciences, went to Art college then moved into engineering but continued my art practice in parallel.
I'm a member of the Shore Collective (an artists Collective based in County Armagh) and we have studio space in Lurgan. And I'm a member of the USWA. Both offer lots of opportunities to exhibit, but you also help make those opportunities too.
I mainly work in oils, and take inspiration from the surrounding countryside in County Armagh. I am drawn to images that remind me of being a child, muddy lanes, winding country roads, woodland, branches, water reflections, long grasses.
I think the engineer in me also likes structure and that often comes across in my paintings. I am also influenced by notan methods in developing the composition and colour theory.
'Presence' was inspired by tramping through rough grassland whilst walking my dog. I liked how the long grasses merged into the trees and branches.
And the dogs lead was getting caught on the briars.
I wanted the close up view of the grasses to bring the viewer into the scene and make them feel like they too are present in this landscape. That they could imagine themselves tramping through the long grass.