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When I arrived at the beautiful Mawddach Crescent house, I still wasn’t entirely sure what direction I would be taking with my residency. I just knew I needed dedicated time to concentrate on my artistic practice after a long period of stress juggling a day job as well as multiple other creative projects. Removing myself from the hustle and bustle of London life was becoming more and more of a priority in order for me to regain my creative sanity. My main subjects are often trees and woodland landscapes and I often employ the use of the human propensity to see meaning in chaos, in particular pareidolia - seeing human faces and figures in natural forms – so I was initially still determining how I would find a way to respond to the estuarine mountainous landscape. But once there, I realised the surroundings were so rich and varied that I was really spoilt for choice and actually narrowing it down to concentrate on a few dedicated projects would be the challenge. I started off doing sketches outside in the woods behind the house. I had the time to become intimately acquainted with specific trees and views. I extended my pareidolia beyond the trees and also started exploring the rocks and sand that are other major features of this landscape. Beyond the woods and the rocky landscapes themselves, I also enjoyed responding to the local materials available – slate was a satisfying medium on which to paint and one I had never thought of using before. I also became fascinated by the bladderwrack seaweed - of which there was in abundance of course. I walked through it barefoot, I ate it for breakfast and brought massive hunks of it inside and observed it up close and created drawings and plates based on its shapes and textures. It gave me a sense that there must be some folklore behind this magical healing and nutritious substance and ultimately created my own story surrounding it for which I made an initial drypoint plate and intend to expand in future. As well as having time to draw outside I could also sit inside and work for hours, uninterrupted… or simply meditate on the changing tides from the studio window. My fellow residency artist Lucy Ward and I were lucky enough to be staying by the Mawddach during a ‘supermoon’, which was a fantastic excuse to stay up all night just watching the moon lighting up the landscape and shifting the shadows and colours through the night.
I had recently received a diagnosis of adult autism and having this time to think and explore how this might reflect on my artistic practice helped me to realise that actually, there are optimum ways for me to work. Having all day to simply explore the landscape and draw, paint or print with no distractions was a gift and finally allowed me to hone in on and exploit this way of working – for long periods with no distractions. I still have so much in my head and on my camera, awaiting further treatment - to be either made into oil paintings, pastel drawings or drypoint or mezzotint prints. The Mawddach Residency has left me with a lifetime's worth of ideas, not to mention the inspiration provided by Scarlett and Jake who showed me that there can be a better way to live as an artist. website
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