“You are Here” is about our connection with nature, at a time when that has never been more important, and follows a long legacy in art of the human form as part of the landscape. Mythology in cultures the world over give examples ancestors, giants and mythical animals who have been turned to mountains, stones, rivers and other natural forms. Back in the landscape we seek solace and peace and wonder at the beauty of it.

When I was a child all I wanted to do was to spend time in nature. I grew up in fields full of wild flowers, knew the name of every flower and bird and spent hours in discovery and delight. It was a place where hedgehog families were plentiful and the air in Summer was busy with insects and butterflies. Snakes were a common sight in the long grass as were hares. I have watched species of all kinds decline down the decades as modern farming practices, pollution and the destruction of habitats has changed the land and my experience of abundance then is not the same for my grandchildren now.

In these paintings I want to convey that feeling of connection, a sense of space and timelessness that being in nature gives us, and which we are in danger of losing. To quote Paul de Zylva of Friends of the Earth: “As we lose Nature, we lose a huge part of what makes us happy and healthy”.

The paintings are graphite, charcoal, pigment and ink with gesso on an acrylic ground on canvas. Some have oil glazes. All are 36” x 36”