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I spent a decent chunk of time in Canada in my teens and early twenties. The wilderness there or "interior" as it is known, had a profound effect on me. I now look for pockets of wilderness in the over-tidy countryside around my home, I am lucky to live in range of some really well managed conservation woodland which is informing a lot of my latest artwork, it is dense and thorny and when alone in there it is the nearest thing I have experienced to wilderness in the UK.
I work with oil paint as I find it forgiving and malleable and the range of earthy colours suits my work, I also enjoy the fact that it can be applied to such a variety of styles and techniques.
I sketch and paint on location, it is wonderful to be alone and relatively still for an extended time with the trees, the woodland wraps you up and goes on as if you were not there, I have had many memorable encounters with wildlife when painting. Small oil studies made on location help me reference the colours and compositions of larger studio pieces.