About

photography

I am fascinated with the natural world. The majority of my photographic work utilises Macro (close-up) techniques to reveal the hidden beauty and dimensions of nature.

The most prominent themes in my work explore pattern, geometry, order, chaos and the Fractal nature of reality.

I live on the World Heritage 'Jurassic Coast' on the South coast of England. This is a large focus of my work:- fossils, ammonites, dinosaurs etc... which i call 'Jurassic'

I enjoy transforming something from nature by manipulating the camera to create an abstracted piece of artwork that cannot be seen in reality, due to the use of certain techniques, scale and magnification.

painting

My painting style has evolved from the highly obsessive and controlled geometric Op Art (Optical Art) painting in the 1990’s to a more right-brained style that is more intuitive and free flowing. I no longer plan out what I’m doing so much but let the paint and materials lead me.

I seem to have two types of work now:

1. a blank canvas which i’ll usually apply some type of textured medium then paint and inks etc,

2. hybrids

hybrids

I use a canvas that has an existing image on it - either from a shop/charity shop, or one of my macro photography canvasses that I exhibit as Photography.  I enjoy this as it introduces an element of randomness where I use the shapes  and forms to determine the direction of the painting.  Therefore, automatically it becomes more intuitive and instinctive.  I now embrace mistakes as they take me somewhere i wouldn’t have gone otherwise. This is highly enjoyable and somewhat meditative.  Through my interest in Zen and eastern philosophy I have come across a term “wabi-sabi” one aspect of which seems to encompass what I’ve been doing - the art of the spontaneous or controlled accident. This, like most Zen concepts, isn’t so easy to put into words. I see it as some way of being in “the zone” when i am in a state of flow and acting on instinct and intuition - the world goes away and I am in the present moment of now - this is the state I aim to live my life in but is more easily achieved during being creative or in meditation practice.  This seems to be more like how children paint. I aim to have fun and see where the muse takes me -  which is a constant surprise.

macro photography

ˌmakrə(ʊ)fəˈtɒɡrəfi/

noun

noun: macro-photography

     photography producing photographs of small items larger than life size.

Macro photography (or photomacrography[1] or macrography,[2] and sometimes macrophotography[3]), is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects and living organisms like insects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size (though macrophotography technically refers to the art of making very large photographs).[2][4] By some definitions, a macro photograph is one in which the size of the subject on the negative or image sensor is life size or greater.[5] However, in other uses it refers to a finished photograph of a subject at greater than life size.[6] - Wikipedia

giclée printing

Definition : Giclée (pronounced zhee-klay). The French word Giclée is a feminine noun that means a spray or a spurt of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt".

Process : The printer is a larger format than standard inkjet's so can print large sizes and has a wider colour range. This means that combined with the high definition resolution and the range of pigment based Archival inks, the output quality is far superior to standard inkjet printing. The heavyweight Archival paper used is a minimum of 190 gsm which combined with the Archival inks produces a print that is light fast for a minimum of 100 years in domestic conditions.