The sky is the ultimate art gallery 

I have always been drawn to the constant presence of the sky. Light and shadow, clouds, patterns, shapes and moods. A huge ever-changing canvas and a reminder of our small but incredibly unique presence in the universe. I try to capture these moments which can so easily go unnoticed in our busy days.   

Painting on smooth panels, using acrylic and oils encourages the paint to flow freely and results in a finish which would not be possible with traditional toothed canvas. I often start from a pent-up and on-edge feeling of just needing to get something out, favouring a blue sky for its joyful connotations, occasionally selecting a complementary or contrasting colour that feels right at the time. Within a few strokes I can visualise the shapes which may lay a few stages on working up in layers to the final image.  

An early influence was the many rain or sun-soaked excursions I took with my parents in the Peak District, tramping through the heather towards the far distant horizon where the moorland meets the vast expanse of the sky. That feeling of being small but held safe in nature became something I seek out and take a great deal of pleasure from. Whether bounded by landscape, trees, a beach, or an expanse of water, I have always said that the sky was one massive canvas for us to appreciate, long before I found out Ralph Waldo Emerson beat me to that statement 140 years previously with his better worded quote; 

The sky is the ultimate art gallery…