My interest in the surface qualities of the landscape, on the forces that influence colour change, on how different layers or marks are made, either randomly of deliberately, and the impact they have upon each other, has influenced my approach to painting. Incorporated into my paintings are systems of notation that describe aspects of topography or climate – contour lines, isobars, symbols and grids.

The context of this interest is the agricultural environment of west Cornwall in which I grew up. Farm work involves physically handling the soil, digging things from it and putting things into it, within a timeframe dictated by the cycle of the seasons. The weather is difficult to predict and impossible to control. Crops are sown in lines. A severe frost or a drought can wipe out months of preparation.

Though the surface of the landscape remains a point of reference, once a painting is underway my attention shifts to the material qualities of the paint, the possibilities for mark marking and the formal relationships of tone and colour that emerge from the process of painting. The paintings (on paper) hang loosely from the wall or ceiling, curling slightly at the edges and shifting with any movement in the air. Their unprotected materiality makes them vulnerable and fragile.

The development of my practice has been informed by the work and ideas of a range of artists including Alfred Wallis, Peter Lanyon, Richard Long, Cy Twombly, Ana Mandieta, Agnes Martin and Edwina Leapman.