‘shinrin- joku’
the composition loosely recalls earlier work, ‘through the trees’, before loosening, softening, and drifting toward abstraction—to a space that has never really left me.
winter weekend walks in the woods offer a quiet, restorative escape. nature holds a deep peace and a kind of quiet magic; these cold, still moments allow the mind to slow and find inspiration in the rhythm of breath.
like many works in the series, it began with a phrase but soon shifted onto gesso-primed plywood—a surface that demanded a different kind of conversation. an initial drawing was fixed with a layer of pva, allowing the graphite to remain visible as the surface evolved. traces of the beginning persist beneath what followed.
as the piece developed, control was gradually released. colour refused to stay where it was expected; it moved, adjusted, and found its own balance. the process became less about directing and more about allowing—about trusting the shifts as they occurred.
the work refers to shinrin-yoku, the japanese practice of forest bathing: a mindful immersion in nature known to support wellbeing.
 
pure is an ongoing exploration of short phrases and sentences. simple at first glance, each piece conceals a complex process of colour selection, positioning, and the relationship between word and surface.
there’s a saying that a picture paints a thousand words but sometimes a phrase, carefully chosen and precisely arranged, can spark just as many questions, or lead you on an unexpected journey. it all depends on the words themselves, and the order in which they are placed. creating vivid imagery from my weirdly fascinating mind is an adventure and it is not always pure.
or perhaps the words simply exist to make you smile.