The work I have produced for this show spans the last two years. The studio based paintings, I hope, contain the energy and enjoyment of my travels over the last five years in the middle east.
My last trip led to the small enclave of Oman called the Mussandam, what a place! Steep mountains leading down to a clear coral based sea. I stayed on the beach one night and woke up to the sight of dolphins swimming by, a good start to the day.
The geology of the area is something you can’t ignore. Going into the mountains by boat you are faced with stunning rock faces that through the process of time have produced various patterns, colours and shapes. Signs of ancient and present dwellings exist, mainly fishing villages that seem to merge into the mountains.
Arabic architecture finds its way into my paintings. The Arab Emirates are going through a modernization process, however there are still pockets of tumbled down dwellings showing their coral based walls that reveal old stories.
A lot of drawing and photography provides me with the source material back in my studio in Helston Cornwall…I use the photos to make up collages working over them with paint, plaster or whatever works.
I hope the flavour and the enjoyment of exploration into the Middle East comes across in this collection of paintings.