How a work begins:

Like many people I find the atmosphere of a wood or forest spiritually charged, and the beauty and noble character of individual trees like-wise.
A sense of awe when in direct personal contact with Nature, and the transporting influence it has on heart and mind is a great antidote to the complexities and woes that bedevil us in the world of today.

A work begins with discovery of a location in which I feel mysteriously alerted to the immediacy of contact with the beauty of Nature. I then start to dwell upon individual features - a gnarled tree trunk or branch, with perhaps their juxtaposition to a woodland path, a sunburst, or panorama.

I create a rudimentary plan dealing with inter-play of light and shade, and sketch individual features of importance; the touchstone for artistic composition lies in recording the impression of the place at the time it was initially discovered, although I will often revisit the location three or four times before the work is complete.