My exhibition, in The University Parks pavilion, Oxford, consists of charcoal and pencil drawings made in situ in The Parks, over the course of the year. As well as framed works, this will include a selection of my daily sketches made in the Parks in all weathers, seasons and times of day since September 2021. Part of an ongoing project, these quick, instinctive drawings record fleeting changes of light and mood; the striking shape, scale and groupings of particular trees and views of the paths, tracks and river integral to our interactions with this space. Reflecting my lifelong interest in natural history and my love of the open spaces within and around the city of Oxford, this is also a reflection on the importance of observation within familiar places.
As a biologist and environmentalist based in Oxford for over twenty years, my work centres around the natural world and our relationship with it. Drawing upon my extensive explorations of natural history and informed by a career in research and teaching, my academic and artistic pursuits enhance and reinforce one another. Much of my work centres around the beauty, diversity and resilience of trees within local landscapes, where quick, instinctive sketches create responses to time, place and season. More detailed work includes studies of feathers and flowering plants, as well as pieces that use maps and text to explore the language of place and the diversity of nature. Commissions, especially those within the Oxford area, are happily undertaken.