Wave Idle Wave
I am pleased to announce a solo exhibition at The Old School Gallery in Northumberland beginning in February 2024. Many thanks to Dale and Penny for this opportunity.
9 February – 25 March 2024
Considering their North Sea coast location I will be showing my paintings and drawings of the sea which I have been making over the course of this past year. The paintings are based around my weekly sea swim which I have been undertaking all year round since 2021.
For many years I have wanted to paint the sea as it is a subject very close to my heart. Growing up by the sea at Gorleston in Norfolk, it is very much embedded in my psyche and the coast draws me in, calms me and holds so much of my and my family’s history. I come from generations who were born, lived and worked in Gt Yarmouth and the connection is palpable, sea water runs in my veins.Taking photos while swimming afforded me a new perspective I had experienced but hadn’t captured before. Being in a wave is the place which is most joyous for me, the bigger the better as I enjoy the perilousness and power of nature. It commands my respect.
I find painting the facets of the waves meditative; starting with a photo I have taken and sometimes amalgamating several for compositional purposes, I form the basic shape and undulations of a wave. It is often not long after this I discard the source material and let the paint and my instinct take over. Despite starting each painting in the same way, this release and the unpredictability of paint allows each painting its own atmosphere, intensity of colour and mood. I am a messy palette painter, letting the colours mix fairly randomly which is also a factor of the end result.
I will be making new work specifically for the exhibition which will also include existing drawings and paintings which have yet to be exhibited.