I can't remember a time when I didn't draw.
As a child I was often dissatisfied with the end results but found the process absorbing. I liked to make little books with the scrap paper my Dad brought home from the office and vividly recall the place where my Grandma kept old envelopes for me to draw on. The sideboard cupboard in her dining room smelt of wood and the lingering aromas of Sunday dinners. The memories and feelings about those early drawing days are all about being alone but contented and focused on a compulsive task. I am still fascinated by the way the act of drawing can preserve a moment of time like an insect in amber. Looking through my sketchbooks, there are many reminders of places, times and people that, although they may not be depicted, they have been set in my memory by the marks on the page.
I like putting together both harmonising and contrasting colours. For a while I used mainly tones and dark colours but now, although tone is still important, I use vibrant colour more than dark monochrome. I perceive the process of making an image as a series of problems which need solving. The more complex the solutions, the more satisfying I find the processes. There are different ways to look at the resulting piece of work, allowing the viewers to discover their own interpretations.
I am currently making work that forms sets or sequences. I love zig-zag books because they allow a flat piece of paper to become three-dimensional, to be viewed and to stand in different ways. They need to contain a set or sequence of images in order to function as a book and can be ‘read’ as a whole or each part examined separately. They are small enough to be hand-held and explored by touch as well as sight.
Drawing continues to feed and sustain my artistic practise, ensuring that my observational skills are exercised, satisfying my curiosity and continuing in the search for truth.
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