Work With Me

I have many years of experience working with oils and have been teaching artists to incorporate cold wax into their practice for several years.

Over time, my work has evolved from large-scale, representational landscapes defined by thick impasto to a more experimental and abstract approach, built through delicate layers of transparent and opaque paint. While my style has changed, some constants remain: I continue to be inspired by the weather, the environment, and the shifting qualities of light across the landscape.

My introduction to cold wax came during a formative residency in Ireland with American abstract artist Rebecca Crowell. This medium—entirely new to me at the time—invited a more instinctive, exploratory way of working. It gave body to the paint while allowing for a richer, more expressive use of colour and texture. This shift moved my practice away from sketches and photographs as references and towards painting from memory, emotion, and a deeper sense of place.

Cold wax is an extraordinarily versatile medium, offering artists fresh ways to explore surface, layering, and mark-making that differ from traditional oil techniques. For me, it has been transformative—opening up possibilities such as embedding materials like marble dust and gold leaf, using solvent to dissolve paint, and embracing bold shifts in colour and tone. As a result, the boundaries in my work between abstraction and representation have become increasingly fluid.

One of the most rewarding aspects of cold wax is the freedom it brings to oil painting. It releases artists from the more rigid conventions of the medium, encouraging spontaneous methods that invite play, innovation, and discovery.

My book, Atmospheric Landscapes: Using Oils and Cold Wax (Crowood Press, 2025), brings together the techniques and ideas that underpin my practice. It offers a practical and inspiring guide to creating landscapes rich in texture, layered with light, and alive with atmosphere—encouraging artists of all levels to embrace a freer, more experimental approach to working in oils.

Whether you're just beginning or are an experienced painter — whether your work is rooted in landscape or abstraction — I offer a range of in-person workshops and online courses designed to support and inspire artists at every stage of their journey.