Our sense of space and place is not fixed or static, it is bound up with experience, memory and perception as well as the actual surroundings. Fragments of visual images, thoughts and senses are juxtaposed and jostle for attention. My interests lie in how we experience a landscape space; the project explored how these sensory experiences can be translated into painting.

The paintings are inspired by the ancient woodland of Grim’s Dyke and by the writing of French philosopher Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962) in his book The Poetics of Space. The estate was home in the early 20th century to English dramatist, librettist and poet W.S. Gilbert. It is a peaceful place, bordered on two sides by Grim’s Ditch, one of the several Roman earthworks in Southern England. The swampy ornamental lake and surrounding woodland was the focus for the project. In 1911, Gilbert drowned there whilst trying to rescue a friend; surrounded by magnificent high rhododendrons the area has a sense of tranquillity belying its history.

Through walking, sketching and photography, ideas for the paintings gradually evolved. Several were made on unprimed canvas; these canvases had been left in the swampy edges of the lake for several weeks to absorb and become stained with water and woodland debris before being used for painting.