Little Jewels, Big Gems

December 2 - December 19 2011

Artist Statement

My time in Newcastle stretches back to the late 1970’s. In that time my interest in the beach and surfing has developed into an enduring love of the water and the environment surrounding it. What came next was a study of these places and finding a medium to render the subjects. Through oil painting and acrylics by the late 1980’s I discovered pastels and found, for me, the ideal means of giving life to the oceanscape.

At first I developed through trail and error to not just see, but to understand all the dynamics involved in water, from still ponds, shallow shoreline ripples, to the surging swell.

I have always appreciated the jewel-like qualities of moving water- their hypnotic effects of the eye and their sparkling, cleansing feel.

Through adapting a palette to suit the seascape, an almost unlimited vocabulary of flicker, refractions, shadows and reflections, merge to give me the desired finish.

I believe pastel can achieve much more than any other medium in creating ‘believable’ water with great speed. Even today my desire to discover more about this ever changing subject grows more and more.