“Living Earth”

I’ve loved whales since an encounter with the life-sized model of a blue whale in the Natural History Museum in London when I was about 8 years old. I remember being awe-struck as I looked up to its incredible form suspended from the ceiling above me. Part of me seemed unable to fathom its immensity, and at the same time, I was thrilled by the realisation that I share this planet with so much magnificence. The experience awakened a longing to protect the great whales; something that has stayed with me.
The initial idea for this painting arose when I heard that one whale can capture as much carbon dioxide as thousands of trees. I was intrigued to discover that during its lifetime a whale stores an estimated 33 tons of carbon in its body, which sinks to the seabed upon death where it remains for thousands of years. In addition, whales are instrumental in fertilising phytoplankton which currently absorbs an estimated 40 percent of all CO2 produced worldwide.
With this in mind I wanted to express the incredible notion that, in a way, a whale carries an entire forest within its body. But more than that, I see this image as an expression of the web of interconnection. The influence of the great whales reaches far beyond their immediate environment which shows us how the fate of the whale is intrinsically tied to our own fate as a human species as well as to the health of our entire planet.
It wasn’t until I was immersed in the painting process that I suddenly began to see the whale as an embodiment of our beautiful blue planet. At this point the sun and the moon appeared to offer a sense of greater perspective, the growing sickle suggesting possibility and hope.
I was trying to capture both the fragility and resilience of the great whales and our planet. As the largest life-forms on Earth, the health and scope of whale populations have a massive impact on the greater whole. While they continue to be threatened through entanglement in tow nets, noise pollution, plastic debris and the effect of climate change on the oceans, I see humpback whales in particular as carriers of hope. Their populations have increased dramatically since the end of widespread whaling, rising from an estimated 5000 individuals worldwide in 1966 to around 135,000 whales in 2018.
For me this image is a celebration of our extraordinary home. It is a call to remember what is at stake and how our actions both personally and collectively can influence the survival of so many species and life on earth as we know it.

I was hoping to encourage a sense of reverence for our planet and to evoke perhaps a glimpse of interconnection with the web of life. I yearn to inspire the urge to protect not only these magnificent creatures, but Nature as a whole. And I long to plant seeds of hope that all is not yet lost, and that positive restorative change is possible.
I'm also aware of the recurring motifs of a gilded sun and moon in your work - would you like to say more about this?
The cycles and seasons of the year and the moon are intrinsic to my way of life, and they often find their way into my paintings through these gilded symbols. I love the contrast between the matt surface of the paint and the shine created by gold leaf. I feel the light gives another layer of life to the painting, inviting nature to interact with the image, changing throughout the day. For me it is also a way of pointing towards a more luminous, energetic layer of existence.

I am inspired by magical realism, folk art and symbolism, by myth, folk and fairy tale but most of all I am inspired by Nature. My images arise as I walk the spiralling path of rewilding. They are the fruits of remembering our belonging to the Earth, the felt sense of returning home. I explore the wisdom and medicine of the birds, plants and animals that become present in my life, the wheel of the year, the body of the Land and the land of the body.
I currently work in watercolour, ink and pigments from earth, minerals and plants, some of which I have foraged and mulled myself. I enjoy the act of co-creation with Nature in this way. The trees within the humpback’s body, for example, are painted with green earth pigments, so the image literally as well as symbolically carries earth.
I discovered the world of watercolour through Jackie Morris while reading stories to my son. I was absolutely captivated by her work – the layers of colour, the depictions of wildlife touched by the magical.
I enjoy the elemental experience of working with water and the challenge and delight that I am not entirely in control, for the dance of water and pigment will create forms and structures that I could never have envisioned. For me this is part of the magic of letting Nature speak.