About me

I’m a Lake District native with an MA Fine Art from Central St Martins 2006. I’ve been developing a contemporary landscape painting style, working in the spectacular lakes.

My family history includes a lot of mining and quarry workers, there’s a nod to that in the name, plus watercolour painting is a magical mix of rock, paper and water. The lakes landscapes are essentially the resulting action of water on rock. All these factors are inextricably bound together in my work.

I use the best watercolour and gouache paints, only choosing colours with excellent lighfastness, and high natural pigment content for the final paintings. Most are made in the UK, the gouache from the US. The paper is high quality 640gsm sheets, internally sized, and again, mostly from the UK.  It’s a very environmentally sustainable  process, no synthetic binders or toxic solvents are used. Honey is a common binder used in watercolour paints – I’ve noticed bees having a curious nibble on my paint pans when I’ve been out and about sketching.

A lot of time is spent freezing on a rock somewhere, occasionally sunburn, or waiting for clouds to lift. Watching colours and detail change. Lake District light interacting with a mountain and cloud cover is something else, unique. Swear words have been involved though.

I’m always amazed by the wildlife I see, getting close or ignoring me sitting silent and motionless waiting for clouds or shadows to go. It’s also why my Instagram feed includes plants and mosses in close detail. Wildlife and sheep go away when you move. Though I know somewhere, someone has a photo of me surrounded by curious Herdwicks breathing over my shoulder looking at my sketchpad.