The 'Ashes to Ashes' series was started in 2019 and features a series of single pigment sketch paintings that are usually made in situ in woodlands or along the river. The paint is hand made from Apple tree charcoal, (or where stated, other vegetation / muds). The paintings are painted on old laptop screens or boards using nearby twigs, leaves, fingers and brushes. The works are a meditation on the Gothic, with obvious references to sustainability, ecology, the landscape tradition, growth and observation. All works are completed in situ.
The nocturnes in the series were heavily influenced by the recent discovery of Pedar Balke's late limited palette paintings. The use of mundane earthy materials linking to a quite and restrained version of Northern European Modernist painting, life cycles and growth among other things. The technique used allows the paint to sit somewhere between expressing its own material qualities and its function as a representational medium.
The nocturnes in the series were heavily influenced by the recent discovery of Pedar Balke's late limited palette paintings. The use of mundane earthy materials linking to a quite and restrained version of Northern European Modernist painting, life cycles and growth among other things. The technique used allows the paint to sit somewhere between expressing its own material qualities and its function as a representational medium.
