Nina A

The work is very much about my experience of living and working in the borderlands of the Welsh Marches, a diverse landscape combining Welsh and English influences with a distinctive geography of ridgeways, forested valleys, mountains and rivers.

I spend time walking, observing and visually recording elements of the landscape. When I am back in the studio I develop these observations through abstracted forms often defined by the dramatic light, black shapes, the darkness and contrast of the forested valleys, accents of colour and the textural feel of this unique landscape.

The work starts with drawing either with graphite or charcoal, I then build up layers in gesso, acrylic and more charcoal and graphite. These layers are often sanded, scored or erased to reveal or obscure something previous. The textural detail and colour is used as a contrast, to focus or balance the composition and although these are from my experience of the landscape they are not used in any representational way. I like the idea that there are areas in the painting that may look flat from afar but when you examine them closely there is much more going on – the surface has been reworked and is often highly textured.

​