Congratulations on winning Zealous Stories: Mixed Media! You mention that your work draws on experiences from different places – what place inspired your winning work ‘Tracks Series’?
‘The Tracks Series’ was inspired by exploring the rocky outcrops near Kinder Scout in the Peak District. When I first went hiking in the area, I was completely in awe of all the different rock formations that are scattered along the Edale Skyline. One of the most memorable spots was a rock formation called the ‘Wool Packs’, that is like a sculpture park on top of the plateau, with so many different shapes and sizes, you can walk through the wool packs like a maze. I kept returning, and the experiences filtered through into mixed media works. While creating this series, I have discovered a deeper interest into the specific geology of the land, and the formation processes of the rocks, and I’m currently exploring that idea for a new body of work.
Tell us about your process for creating this series – what materials did you use to achieve the textural layering effect?
I was interested in the different shapes of the rocks and their relationship with the surrounding landscape. Taking inspiration from the rock formations, I started tearing up my oil paintings that were done on primed cold-pressed watercolour paper, and layering them on a postcard sized format, looking for connections through colour, shapes, marks and textures. I also work over the torn-up paintings using pastel and charcoal on wet and dry paint to build up the layers and texture. My favourite part is connecting all the different pieces together; arranging, re-arranging, and re-arranging again and then finally sticking them down, completing the piece.
