Description
The moss-cloaked, ancient stone walls that criss-cross ‘my’ mountain continue to fascinate and inspire me. I never tire of them: it amazes me that such simple, prehistoric little plants can totally transform a landscape: softening edges and creating billowy outlines from sharp jagged rocks; disguising the harsh results of human activity, reclaiming the land and restoring its wildness. And the colours that glow all year round: from the deepest of dark greens to the spectacular acid-greens and golds of the sphagnums that are able to thrive in these harsh wet habitats.
In this collection, I have continued to explore the use of bold marks and textures, to convey the wildness of this wonderful landscape, where gnarly trees force their way through the walls, where Wheatear ‘chuck-chuck’ at my intrusion, and the wind buffets constantly. I’ve begun to use more collage to abstract the glimpses of the landscape that resonate and stay in my mind, and to use oils in the work, to create that organic glow that only mosses seem able to bring to the wildest of landscapes.
