Previously I focused on my love of the natural world, especially flowers, trees and coastal landscapes, and also explored the portrayal of food in art over the last 60 years. My current practice stems from a love of buildings, both iconic and those of personal significance. I am particularly interested in relationships between architecture, colour and effect; considering the impact colour can have on emotional states and wellbeing, and delving into how colours attached to certain memories, emotions, or experiences can enhance the personal significance of buildings. By exploring the emotional capacity of a building through personal experience and colour psychology, I invite viewers to form attachments and bring personal connections to life through the interplay of architecture and colour. 

Starting with photographs of buildings I have encountered, often without seeking them, I produce medium/large-scale drawings on fabric before applying paint and thread. Rather than documenting existing visible colours, I choose colours that combine the building’s purpose and my own intuitive relationship to the architecture, using established colour symbolism (red as love/anger etc.) to reflect my feelings after encountering, photographing, and materially engaging with each building. 

Fabric is my main surface because its delicacy represents the fragility of emotions. Watercolour is key as its transparency links to the subtle transitions often present in psychological states, which experimentation showed is harder to achieve with other paints. During experimentation I explored screen-printing to achieve rich layers of colour which complement the colour of the material. Thread is an important addition, representing links between memories and emotions tied to architectural spaces, symbolising how these spaces are woven into the fabric of life, and how colour and architecture are interwoven in our perceptions. I also occasionally use pressed flowers, reflecting the emotions tied to the colour. I hope others experience the variety of emotions associated with different colours.