Another passion I have aswell as my art is athletics, fell-running and cross-country competition has been a part of my life for nearly twenty years and this canvas as a celebration of that back in the late 1990s.....the interplay of forms and 'doodles' to the right lung could represent lateral thinking and a certain lack of discipline and structure necessary in creativity and the left hand side with the figurative ribcage a symbol of harmony and convergence of thoughts in sport. An urban image painted back in 2000 that was in direct response to the 'New Look Red Brick and Glass' architectural style that was not only seen in my home city of Leeds but across England. The artificial and lifeless form of straight,neutral and perpendicular cityscapes produced a reactionary response...the absence of figures in the painting was not accidental. A traditional 24x34ins. reduction linoleum print of Jubilee Clock Tower in the heart of Otley....I attatched a kite out of darkness to the figure in the foreground to add an element of surrealism and suprise to what otherwise would have been a purely accademic exercise in printing technique and landscape art.
'Fish Out Of Water' (card, 36x24x12ins.) made way back in the mid 1990s when I was an artist-in-residence in a high school in Yorkshire......appears to be quite a harsh image here but although it should represent my experience of living in another country and culture ,I don't feel out of water in the slightest, in fact my new found discipline in creativity makes me feel more and more like this is my new home.

This is the second 5x4 feet painting of the autumn in Otley...the over-elaboration and decorative qualities in the image and the removal from true colour makes for a surrealist outcome.