Running is an important part of the creative process for many artists. It is a space in which to think, breathe, be embodied and inspired. During the hot weather, my own running routine has shifted once more to early mornings three or four times a week. It is a return to the underlying process of some of the earliest landscape pieces (which I made after moving to Hertfordshire in 2014). These early pieces were inspired by running towards morning light in the depths of winter. They came out of getting to know my surroundings and the desire to connect feet with earth, to become rooted.
More recently I have been working on a series of “blonde field” pieces for the Artichoke Gallery in October. They are still very much in progress and may yet change drastically. This series again connects with rooting and discovery. I have now lived in my current home for coming up to a year and there is endless delight to be found in connecting up and discovering new pathways. The landscape is similar and yet different. It has more hills so one is held and can see out to the horizon in a different way. The most recent paintings reference hot skies, hazey blue field edges, and burnt grasses. I am trying to make them buzz and pulse.”
This week I will exhibit at The Other Art Fair in Bristol. By a lovely coincidence Louisa Crispin, artist and one of three Directors of Artichoke Gallery (with whom I will show in October – December), is also exhibiting. Her work is quiet, sensitive, beautifully drawn and observed. I discovered that she also has a movement practice.
She says:
