colourscape
colourscape a series of both paint and stitch reinterpretating the landscape of the North Sefton coastline through a kalidoscope colour.
In ‘colourscape’, I wanted to reinvent my long-term love of the landscape of the North Sefton coastline by constructing an abstracted narrative that captures the tones, patterns, shapes and textural details of the region I live.
I find the coastline a magical place, one that brings a sense of hope and optimism with the renewing nature of the turning tides. For the ‘colourscape’ series I wanted to I heighten the colour of the landscape and use unexpected hues that jolt the sense of place and makes you question the reality of what is depicted. The two mediums are acrylic paint and textiles (stitch), with colour central to both expressions. When working in paint I prefer to use a limited palette from which I mix a variety of sympathetic hues and tints. For my textile pieces I apply acid dyes on reclaimed sari silk to generate an extensive range of shades from which to interplay.
Experimentation and evolution remain important features of my process and the catalyst behind ‘colourscape’ came during my Covid lockdown excursions along the Sefton coastline. The preciousness of these escapes into the outside world during the pandemic compelled me into capturing the essence of my strolls along the coast in a series of works. I wanted to portray how I viewed and remembered elements of the distant sea, the moving tidal channel erosions and elusive glimpses of a sandy beach under the encroaching grasslands. By documenting my explorations through multiple photos and sketches, I began to initiate ideas in sketchbooks creating photomontages and small-collaged compositions key to working out my objectives. I particularly love the way you can trial ideas from page to page, exhausting compositional options and colour variations, without the constraints of ‘final piece’ syndrome. As possible scenarios developed I simplified and heighten areas of colour and began to see how land, sea and sky became bounded by invisible horizontal and vertical boundaries.
Played out against a backdrop of seasonal change, the relentless interruptions of the sea’s tidal rhythm, the ebb and flow of crashing waves and the scratchy tumble of the tundra tossed by incoming winds, continually challenged my interpretation. And as the ‘colourscape’ paintings developed my intention was to conjure up a more abstracted portrayal of the coastline and evoke a sense of atmosphere that prompts each viewer to discover their own landscape.