Yu Cheng Park

Ink and Acrylic on Paper, 75 x 26.3 cm,(Framed 96.5 x 40.5 x 4cm) 2015-18

This mixed media Ink and Acrylic on Paper Diptych was completed over four years as I slowly built it up and created other pieces. I really like the chance to step away from a piece and come back to it after I have had time to consider how I want it to develop. This is a combination of subject and materials that I like to use and it began with an “en plein air” drawing done in my local Yu Cheng Park in the summer of 2015. I would always pass this corner of the park and stare at the amazing trees and roots and liked how the steps cut across the scene with the white shelters behind adding another dimension. So after the initial drawing done in the park (in the summer heat getting attacked by far too many mosquitoes and flies!) I worked from photos in my studio, slowly adding many thin layers of Acrylic Paint to build up the colours. After this I drew over the image again in Ink to redefine the shapes, shades and shadows. It is a very slow process to build up the details in this way, but I really like how it allows me to carefully control each layer of shade and I think it adds more to the finished piece than a basic drawing or painting. This framed piece was featured in a Group Exhibition with the Red Room at the American Club and in my first Solo Exhibition in Taiwan at the Community Services Center in Taipei City.

Show Your Roots

Acrylic and Ink on Paper, 40 x 50 cm, 2015

This mixed media (Acrylic Paint and Ink on Paper ) piece was inspired by the previous Ink drawings of Banyan Trees. This piece was the first time I used this combination of mediums to add colour to the trees and image. It was created for and exhibited in the 2015 Threshold V Festival in Liverpool, U.K. It is a hybrid image based on two of my local parks in Taipei City called Yu Cheng Park and Nangang Park. They both have a lot of Banyan Trees that give them a mysterious and beautiful aura.

Banyan Tree 2

Ink on Brown Paper Mounted on Black Card, 50 x 40.4cm, 2014-19

This Ink Drawing is part of an ongoing series that I have made inspired by the incredible Banyan Trees that can be found in Taiwan. This particular one is in Nangang Park near my home in Taipei City. I really enjoy drawing and studying these trees and seem to find human and animal shapes and echoes in the incredible root formations. I was drawn to this tree by the way the roots spread out across the floor and cross each other creating lots of interesting shapes and shadows. I also really like the hair like higher roots that hang down from these Bayan Trees searching for water and the smaller shoots of flowers growing in the spaces between the roots. Originally finished “en plein air” in 2015, it has since been cropped and I have re-drawn areas to make it fit together correctly in 2019.

Banyan Tree

Ink on Brown Paper Mounted on Black Card, 54 x 40.4cm, 2014-2019

This Ink Drawing is part of an ongoing series that I have made inspired by the incredible Banyan Trees that can be found in Taiwan. This particular one is in Nangang Park near my home in Taipei City. I really enjoy drawing and studying these trees and seem to find human and animal shapes and echoes in the incredible root formations. This particular tree caught my eye because of the interesting shapes and angles that somehow reminded me of a dog sitting with its two legs in front of it! I don’t know if anyone else would agree! This Ink Drawing on brown paper was drawn “en plein air” in my sketchbook and built up in layers of hatching and cross-hatching to define edges and create the shape, tones and shades of the tree’s weathered bark. Originally finished in 2015, it has been cropped and I have re-drawn areas to make it fit together correctly in 2019.

Natural Geometries of Survival

Ink on Brown Paper, 130 cm x 40 cm, Dec 2014 – Mar 2015

This is a drawing of some of the fascinating Banyan trees that can be found in Taiwan. These particular trees are in Nangang Park, Taipei City near my house. I love the incredible tentacle-like roots that seem unstoppable and able to get over or around anything. It really highlights nature’s ability to adapt and survive at all costs. These trees also have thin hair like roots that hang down from the branches to help find more water. This picture was done “en plein air” on six pages in my sketchbook, but originally started as just the two middle sections. As I drew this picture I decided to expand it and try to show all the trees that cover the small hillside. It was drawn over many “en plein air” sessions from December to January in Taiwan and then joined together and finished in Liverpool as I prepared it for exhibition in Constellations as part of the Threshold V Festival 2015. The name of the picture came from the 2015 Threshold V Festival theme of Natural Geometries, which I had applied to join as I started the drawing. The more I thought about the name the more I realised how it applied to the scene I was drawing. That’s how I added the full name “Natural Geometries of Survival” as the angles and shapes of the trees created by nature are all about survival.

Another World

Oil Paint and Oil Pastel on Canvas, 73 x 60 x 2.5cm, 2006

This piece is one of my most surreal works and was made in Taipei City in 2006 using Oil Pastels and Oil Paint on Canvas. I decided to mix the two mediums as I wanted to use the texture and immediacy of the Oil Pastels to represent the rough bark of the tree and contrast with the smoother application of Oil Paint. It is inspired by the incredible Banyan Trees that can be found in Taiwan. I love the unpredictable shapes and directions made by the roots as they search for vital water sources to survive. Theses trees have always fascinated me and after drawing them many times my mind began to wonder about how an alien land or Another World populated by these trees might look. I imagined what a world would look like if these unstoppable trees could bridge the gap between the ground and a mirror image ground (or very close planet) above our heads. I pictured a desolate place with a small sky sandwiched between the dry lands which are held near by the all conquering roots of the Banyan Tree.

This piece was Exhibited in my first Solo Exhibition in Taiwan at the Community Service Centre, Tienmu, Taipei City from January to April in 2020. You find out more information about the events, activities and visiting the Centre here:

https://www.communitycenter.org.tw/locations/

Show Your Roots

Charcoal and Pastel on Fabriano Paper, 95 x 70 cm(100 x 77cm), 2007

This is a Charcoal and Pastel on Paper version of an Ink Drawing I originally made in San Chong in 2002/03 during my second year in Taiwan. At the time of drawing the original I had just returned to Taiwan and would spend a lot of time exploring my new area, walking in the local parks to see what interesting things I could find. Taiwan has many of these beautiful Banyan Fig Trees that have exposed over-ground roots that spread out across the ground creating amazing snake like shapes and angles as they seek water and stability. These trees still fascinate me and this particular one was the first that I ever drew. The original drawing was done in blue pen on a brown paper pad and I drew it “en plein air” over a number of evenings in a park near my apartment. This was started in late summer and I drew in the evenings as I liked the shadows and it was too hot to draw outside in the daytime. The original image has since been used as T-Shirt design for a Taiwanese company called Cognoscenti and I always wanted to other versions of it in other materials. Eventually, five years later I created this Charcoal and Pastel on Fabriano Paper version of the image in my studio. I used Charcoal to show the Banyan Tree and added green Pastel to show the fresh new shoots that were growing up through the spaces in between the limbs of the tree. The paper was attached to the wall with a brown masking tape that has actually become part of the full picture as I drew to the very edges of the tape in areas. In the cropped version of the drawing you cannot see this part, but there are other versions showing this and it has the option of including those areas or cropping when framing. I personally like the contrast of the brown edges but cropped them in this image because when I photographed the large-scale drawing the edges appeared not to look straight (due to my camera angle).

My First Solo Exhibition in Asia

Another World, Oil Paint and Oil Pastel on Canvas, 73 x 60 x 2cm, 2006

I am very honoured and proud to announce the opening of the first Solo Exhibition of my Artwork in Taiwan, Asia. It is an Exhibition of 19 Paintings and Drawings inspired by Travelling and is being held at the Community Services Center in Tienmu, Taipei City. It is on from Friday 17^th January until Tuesday 31^st March and is available for viewing from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5pm.

You find out more information about the events, activities and visiting the Centre here:

https://www.communitycenter.org.tw/locations/

This piece is one of my most surreal works and was made in Taipei City in 2006 using Oil Pastels and Oil Paint on Canvas. I decided to mix the two mediums as I wanted to use the texture and immediacy of the Oil Pastels to represent the rough bark of the tree and contrast with the smoother application of Oil Paint. It is inspired by the incredible Chinese Banyan Trees that can be found in Taiwan. I love the unpredictable shapes and directions made by the roots as they search for vital water sources to survive. Theses trees have always fascinated me and after drawing them many times my mind began to wonder about how an alien land or Another World populated by these trees might look. I imagined what a world would look like if these unstoppable trees could bridge the gap between the ground and a mirror image ground (or very close planet) above our heads. I pictured a desolate place with a small sky sandwiched between the dry lands which are held near by the all conquering roots of the Banyan Tree.

My First Solo Exhibition in Asia!

Yu Cheng Park, Nangang, Ink and Acrylic on Paper, 75 x 26.3 cm,(Framed 96.5 x 40.5 cm) 2015-18

This mixed media Ink and Acrylic on Paper Diptych was completed over four years as I slowly built it up and created other pieces. I really like the chance to step away from a piece and come back to it after I have had time to consider how I want it to develop. This is a combination of subject and materials that I like to use and it began with an “en plein air” drawing done in my local Yu Cheng Park in the summer of 2015. I would always pass this corner of the park and stare at the amazing trees and roots and also liked how the steps cut across the scene and the white shelters in background added another dimension. So after the initial drawing I worked from photos in my studio, slowly adding many thin layers of Acrylic Paint to build up the colours. After this I drew over the image again in Ink to redefine the shapes, shades and shadows. It is a very slow process to build up the details in this way, but I really like how it allows me to carefully control each layer of shade and I think it adds more to the finished piece than a basic drawing or painting.

 

Banyan Tree 2

Ink on Brown Paper Mounted on Black Card, 50 x 40.4cm, 2014-19

This Ink Drawing is part of an ongoing series that I have made inspired by the incredible Banyan Trees that can be found in Taiwan. This particular one is in Nangang Park near my home in Taipei City. I really enjoy drawing and studying these trees and seem to find human and animal shapes and echoes in the incredible root formations. I was drawn to this tree by the way the roots spread out across the floor and cross each other creating lots of interesting shapes and shadows. I also really like the hair like higher roots that hang down from these Bayan Trees searching for water and the smaller shoots of flowers growing in the seems between the roots. Originally finished “en plein air” in 2015, it has recently been cropped and I have re-drawn areas to make it fit together correctly.