The energy moving through sea and sky, the relentless wind, waves and the Orkney weather fuel my painting.

I walk, swim and kayak around the edges of the land and sea, then back in the studio I try to keep that feeling of ‘being there’ going.

The geology of the place, the shape of a headland, how the rock at the edge of the land erodes are vital visual elements, but I also aim to capture the atmosphere, sensations and emotions places evoke, rather than creating a purely representational image.

The human and natural history, place-names and folktales, maps and charts associated with the coastline of Orkney are elements which infuse the development of new work.

Trips to the North West Highlands of Scotland, and other places in the North Atlantic periphery such as Faroe Islands, Iceland and St Kilda are tracked back to the studio and leave their traces in my work.

I work on paper, canvas and wood panel using a mixture of media including acrylic, oil pastel, ink, graphite. I often create tools for mark making and mixtures for painting using materials I gather on my journeys.