As an artist, I have always found it slightly troublesome to write about my own work and attempt to give concise explanations for works which have been built from a wide-ranging collection of source materials and iconographies. Rooted within a printmakers aesthetic, the artworks presented here and on my website represent the collision between, amongst others, Neil Gunn, the cool, dense damp of a North East coastal haar, boyhood huts and a lifelong fascination with sheds, objects my own children have constructed, broken up and reconfigured in play, Eric Ravilious, Northern European art, Second World War newsreels and ...gardening. Colour is a Beuysian signifier of material; oxide reds and close toned greys act as abbreviations for rusted metal, wool, stone and weathered timber - a Northern monochrome. These are images of objects in environments affected by the transforming, perspective flattening properties of snow, mist and rain smirr. They are quiet and still; sound having been deadened by the atmospheric conditions they depict.
During a recent visit to Spey Bay on the Moray coast, I was disappointed to see that one of the small settlements' landmarks had been removed. This beautiful, small example of vernacular architecture is no longer. I'm not sure when it was constructed, but its' octagonal plan and stained glass windows would suggest the turn of the 19/20th centuries. I've been trying to discover its history and what happened to it, but to no avail. I do feel fortunate to have recorded it both photographically and more importantly to me, in drawings and ultimately, in print. I am and always have been, a sucker for a nice shed.