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| Recent Locations |
Dorset and the West Country |
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Many of my Dorset etchings are based around the Old Schoolhouse in Ryme Intrinseca. It is not typical Dorset, but strangely flat and I can look across the fields to Sherborne Abbey some 4 miles away. However the local countryside is rich in wildlife and I am spoilt for choice.
West Dorset is quite another world. Its soft countryside melts imperceptibly into that of Devon with deep lanes and sleepy villages, the rich pastures of the Marshwood Vale and the coastal sweep of Lyme Bay. Eype Mouth in particular has always appealled to me, from the crumbling cliffs and the tugging sea, to the occassional glimpse of a peregrine over Thorncombe Beacon. Likewise Lyme Regis has drawn me back several times to try and capture the the quieter moments within the harbour.
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| The Lot valley, France |
I had always been considered a wildlife painter but it was here, one autumn, that I first left wildlife painting behind. They were dank, still days of fading summer that beckoned me forward and encouraged me in my new-found determination to paint the landscape. The air was heavy with the vaguely comforting odour of smouldering bonfires and crushed grapes. The wooded hillsides were rich in autumn dress. Acres of wilting red and ochre vineyards carpeted the valleys. Crumbling chateaux and farmhouses were silent on the banks of a gently surging river Lot, their reflections trembling but static as the muddy waters pushed on.
I would sit outside in this quietly deteriorating backdrop day after day trying to paint the river, the villages and hillsides. As I did so I would always be aware of the black kites overhead, martins passing through on their way south, or a black redstart in the ruins of a barn. And just occasionally, despite the views, the wildlife would still demand a picture all to itself..
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| India |
I have been to India several times now, the first time was in 1996 to Kerala, south west India. It was an extraordinary month when I struggled and never quite acclimatised to the warmth and humidity. I was permanently overwhelmed by the mass of people and industry amidst the distinctive charm of the region. Nevertheless, I resolutely attempted to paint the colourful chaos of every day life, be it bustling, noisy markets, the stooping Chinese fishing nets or the sleepwalking hulks of oil tankers gently thumping their way to and from the Kochi refinery. Since then I have travelled through the ever popular Rajasthan and also visited Ranthanbore tiger reserve, Bharatpur-Keoladeo bird sanctuary. My last two trips have been based at Kaladhungi at the foot of the Kumaon Himalaya where the wildlife is rich and varied with stunning mountain views.
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| The Highlands and Outer Hebrides |
The North of Scotland has long been inspirational country and I am a regular visitor to the Outer Hebrides, Skye and Sutherland.
Pabbay, an island in the Sound of Harris, is remote, beautiful and rich in wildlife. There are otters in the dunes, peregrines, eagles, harriers and merlins overhead, pipits and twite in the heather and a myriad of waders along the shoreline. |
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