My paintings are inspired by landscapes both real and imagined. I often work in remote, disused, or abandoned places where structures merge with nature; materials erode. The physical evidence of the past disintegrates, yet the story of these places remains powerful. Working outdoors is an essential part of my practice and how I often gather ideas that will be further developed in the studio.

The act of painting restructures my observations and memories. Story/history, literature, found objects and images are starting points. I take these inspirations outdoors where nature provides a counterpoint, an opportunity to observe and experiment. Colour, collage, composition, mark making create fragmentations, reveal patterns of time, the character of a place. In the studio, work derived from observation is further developed. Image emerges from abstraction, abstraction comes from image, paintings are a search for a kind of reciprocity between the two.

Originally from Ohio I came to Scotland in 1990. For many people who migrate, ‘identity’, ‘place’, ‘home’ shift, feel transitory. My work draws on this experience of displacement to look for hidden stories, to disrupt nostalgic narratives.