FROM lAND TO SEA AND BACK
I met Wendy during an ARTfuel retreat in Portugal. I was immediately drawn to her humor, spontaneity, zest for life, and her ability to approach whatever comes her way with a sense of fun.
Painting alongside someone is an intimate experience; you witness their doubts, their questions, and the way they explore the world through their work. I’m not sure how, but quite quickly, we started talking about collaborating artistically. At the time, we didn’t know exactly what we’d do—just a shared desire to work together. We are engaged in a similar kind of exploration: like me, Wendy paints abstract landscapes inspired by her surroundings and her daily life.
It raises the question of where this drive toward abstraction comes from, especially when other painters seek to capture the precise details of a landscape. Near my studio in Oisans, there is another artist who paints realistic mountain scenes. The first time I saw her work from a distance, I thought they were photographs; only when I got closer did I realize they were paintings.
Our daily lives are steeped in the same mountains, glaciers, sunrises, sunsets, and mists. We share the same sky, yet I do not aim to create a photographic image of what I see; instead, I try to capture the energy flowing through the landscape, the power of its presence, and my curiosity about the colors and light—which shift every day.
I share this curiosity with Wendy. It is a process of deconstructing an experience and then reconstructing it in a new form—using our own unique colors, brushwork, and shapes—in the hope that it might resonate with the person who views the work later.
This joint project is soon to become a reality. The exhibition, From Land to Sea and Back, will serve as an artistic dialogue—exploring how each of us interprets the abstraction of our everyday landscapes in our own way, while also highlighting the connection between land and sea: my landscapes of mountains, rock, and ice alongside Wendy’s seascapes.
If you are in Scotland—and Edinburgh in particular—you are warmly invited to come and meet us and see our work.
I will be presenting an expressive, fluid series of works on paper; for this occasion, they are mounted with high-quality, acid-free, off-white mats to ensure their preservation.
I will also be showcasing my new collection of paintings on wood. Created this summer, this collection is not yet available on my website. Bursting with vibrant colors, it evokes the striking contrasts of our summer, as well as the freshness and serenity found in the mountains—in close contact with nature and the elements.
Generally speaking, my work this year is more colorful than before, yet I always strive to preserve a sense of calm—a place for the eye to rest. You might also see in it my quest for greater simplicity; Often, as I work, words come to me—short, evocative poems akin to haikus. The poetry of these words permeates my colors and compositions.
As with a haiku, I aim to convey emotion and the fleeting nature of a moment using a minimal number of elements, believing that elegance reveals itself through such restraint of expression.
I don’t think I’ve reached the end of this journey, but occasionally—miraculously—a painting captures that exact "sweet spot" between simplicity and elegance. I cannot always achieve it, but I know it when I see it. It tends to appear most often when I am not actively trying to create it; therein lies the paradox—and a lesson in humility.
I hope to see you in Edinburgh.