'Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. Frederick Buechner Remedies for maintaining our mental health, sit alongside the ever increasing news reports on our violent, greedy and unequal world. These new images made in 2024 are my attempt to express how I feel. When I am struggling to make sense of this post pandemic world, I seek out some time to enjoy the natural world. My place of solace when I am angry or sad. Re-imagining nature gives me hope for the future. 'We can never obtain peace in the world until we make peace with ourselves.' Dalai Lama

'Art is the expression of imagination, not the reproduction of reality.' Henry Moore Mesmerised by the textures, the curves and the internal colours of the bronzes four years ago, I felt the same as I did aged just six, when I first set eyes on Henry Moore's Family Group sculpture. I thought he had made it to welcome us into our very new town. As the sun tangoed on the surfaces of the sculptures in Hertfordshire, a project, that was to last three years, began. The aim was to re-create his work in photographic form, emphasising the internal colours of the bronzes and using the striations and textures to add depth to the the sumptuous curves. The images are displayed here with the kind permission of the Henry Moore Foundation..

“In time and with water everything changes.” – Leonardo da Vinci There are moments when we come across a place where time seems to have stood still. The only movement is the water, supported on it's way by age old structures which are bathed in alternate light and dark. I like to spend my time watching and listening. Can you hear the water?

Deeply listening to music opens up new avenues of research I’d never even dreamed of. I feel from now on music should be an essential part of every analysis. - Dr. Carl Jung. Music has played an enormous part of my life despite not being able to play an instrument. Unlike Prufrock I have measured out my life not just with coffee spoons, but with particular songs and lyrics. Like many others I have to be in the mood to listen or the sounds I love, become discordant and start to interrupt my thought process making me want to escape instead of listen.

'I believe in the imagination’……..’To photograph reality is to photograph nothing.’ Duane Michals. I have always enjoyed making images of trees. I am fascinated by their shapes, colours and textures. When the viewer allows their eyes to look up from underneath the canopy, they enter a hidden woodland, contained only by branches and leaves, with a background of sky and occasionally a subtle landscape. The Brecks near where I live, is an area containing some very iconic trees. Their deep dense foliage, twisted and crooked branch shapes, can be seen grouped together and dotted across the mainly flat landscape.

"There is poetry among the wildflowers'.” ― Rachel Irene Stevenson It is not so much about what we see as what we feel and remember. With half closed eyes I can feel the sensation wild flora brings. It lingers in the memory waiting to lighten a rainy grey day.

“In every change, in every falling leaf there is some pain, some beauty. And that's the way new leaves grow.” - Amit Ray Covid brought long dark days of aloneness and longing. Nothing seemed bright any more as I yearned to see my granddaughter and daughters. To while away the hours and bring some colour into my life I began a project with dried leaves. I imagined the fun we would have kicking up the Autumn leaves when we were all re-united and the colours brought me joy at a difficult time for everyone.

'You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at the picture for a second and think of it all your life.' – Joan Miro In-camera creativity is serendipitous and it is not always possible to create a series of images. These photographs have been inspired by a wide variety of stimuli, poetry, blobs of paint on an old wall, patterns on a huge waste bin and the back light of car, to name just a few. I continue to be inspired by anything and everything.

'In order to figure this artmaking stuff out, it’s trial and error and experimentation, and takes some time and hard thinking. Putting work out in many forms and stages is an extension of how I see things. I feel the art process is best served when it invites comments and constructive criticism from people.' - Sufjan Stevens Experimentation is fun, although varying and unwanted results in all art genres, can deter even the most tenacious artist. I finally plucked up the courage to open my acrylic paints and slap a variety of colours onto my Gelliplate. I have enjoyed using the results as a base for further ICM and ME work with my camera. These single images are the result.