2007 - Inspirational Slideshow

Inspirational Slideshow is my fifth Solo show and is a culmination of influences from photographs I have taken in recent years. Many things have inspired me on my travels including rocks, trees, architecture, sunsets, sea and landscapes, together with people, usually in shadow or silhouette form. The human element is obvious yet never dominating nature, expressing my hope for our earth's future.

 

These photographic studies have inspired me to paint, sometimes in an expressive abstract way as the work took on a life of its own; others more closely resemble the original. Although diverse, the common thread is the texture that I love to work with and the use of mixed media in the form of rocks, shells, fabric and sand.

 

In this body of work I have also incorporated clues to the inspiration within the texture and layers of paint; it is disguised so that the image becomes part of the overall painting as well as being the original influence. This has created a unique variety of subject matter, from Hong Kong city skylines, to sunsets in the remote East Coast of New Zealand, and silhouettes on walls at the Rocks, along with sand shadows in the massive dunes in Hawks Nest, NSW.

 

The black panel across the top in some works is a technique I have been using recently as a form of cropping; it gives the impression of looking through a window or viewfinder as well as adding a contemporary edge to the artwork.

 

For me this exhibition represents a very personal journey, as creating the series was a constant trip down memory lane. My hope is they evoke some emotion for each of you and reflect the beauty and mystery of our world, as we trust that humanity moves closer to harmony with its environment.