Opening at The Minories, Colchester

The show at the Minories features the Arborealists, a group of artists specialising in depicting trees.

In this show, we are exhibiting work about Staverton, an ancient deer park on the borders of Suffolk and Norfolk. The oaks there were pollarded until the end of the eighteenth century. Since then, they have been left to grow freely and the park is now a landscape of massive trunks (many trees are between 500 and 1000 years old) and a riot of writhing branches.

The group was approached by renowned tree expert George Peterkin, MBE who had carried out a survey of the trees in the park in the 1960s and had maintained an interest in the location ever since.

Since 2023, we have been visiting the park on a regular basis and the work on show is our response to this unique habitat.

I will be showing wintry watercolours in russets and greys (from a freezing January visit) and some experimental intaglio etchings using the inside of TetraPak drinks cartons, of some of my favourite oaks.

The exhibition opens on Thursday 5th March 2026 and runs to Sunday 3rd April. I will be at the opening event on Saturday 7th March, from 4pm. Please do come and say hello.

Every Step of the Way

Last few days of the wonderful Every Step of the Way exhibition at The Arc in Winchester before it moves to the next venue, The Weald and Downland Living Museum near Chichester.

The exhibition articulates, through art, the experience of walking the 100 mile South Downs way, long distance trail, over the spectacular South Downs from Eastbourne to Winchester.

From ditchling beacon, watercolour, 101 x 152cm

‘From Ditchling Beacon’ 101cm x 152cm, is one of a series of large, immersive watercolours I created for the project, depicting the view from the highest point of the 100 mile walk as it stretches towards Lewes and the English Channel beyond.

The show questions what landscapes mean to us. For my part it is the joyful uplifting feeling of moving through the landscape and observing the human imprint of the pathways dissecting the hills and valleys. Pathways become visual lines, describing the topography and worn into place by myriad feet across many centuries. Walking these paths grounds me into time as well as place.

I am one of 33 contemporary artists articulating the experience of walking the Way through the lens of my creative practice. We are:

Jonathan Barrett Danes / Ruth Barrett Danes / Iain Biggs /Robert Brooks / Andrew Carnie / Tim Craven / Jon Edgar / Ben Edge / Alex Faulkner ? Stephanie Fawbert / Paul Finn / Mark & Rebecca Ford / Jeremy Gardiner / Anita Gellatly / The Baron Gilvan / Helena Hines / Simon Hitchens / Sarah Hughes & daniel Pateman / Rachel Johnston / Judith Jones / Frances Knight / Neeta Madahar / Fiona McIntyre / Flora McLachlan / auł newman / Piers Otte / Howard Phipps / Deborah richards / Tiffany Robinson / Vanessa Rolf / Melanie Rose / Harriet Tarlo /Jonathon Thompson

The show runs to the 16th July - 9.30 - 5pm, Monday to Saturday, 11am - 5pm, Sunday.

The Arc, Jewry Street, Winchester, SO23 8SB

My struggles with the Oaks

Staverton Oaks - drypoint etching on tetra paks

I took a trip to Staverton in the last week of April. I wanted to capture that moment when the oak leaves have just come out with all their luminescence. I had three days and booked in to Wantisden Campsite.. a stone’s throw from Staverton, glamping in one of their ‘wooden tents’ with a large double bed, clean sheets, electricity and a kettle.

Each day I wrestled with how on earth to capture the park. I started early and the light was beautiful, with long shadows and shafts of bright green grass between the trees, shots of vibrant green in the canopy and the dark purpley silhouettes of the old gnarled trees dancing in a writhing spidery ensemble.

It was a while before I settled in to my solitary work. Being alone in the 200 acre park felt eerie. The whole forest would begin to crackle, a noise not unlike rain, as tiny pieces of tree, twig, flower and leaf fell onto the ground when a breeze stirred. Miniature green caterpillars landed on my arms and legs. Loud movements in the undergrowth had me nervously peering round. Deer. I came upon pheasants snuggling down in the grass and my days were punctuated by two cuckoos calling to each other across the park. I began to relax.

It took me three full days to do anything that I was pleased with. I attempted acrylics, inks, watercolours, but in the end it was drawing that I needed to focus on.. I found myself continually drawn to one area of the park, where you could see the trunks of the ancient trees stretching away to a distant open area. This is where I began to find a language for this extraordinary place. As I walked along a now familiar path back to my car on the last day, a cuckoo flew around me, calling as it dipped from tree to tree - the first time I’ve ever seen one. What a privilege.

Originally appeared in the Arborealist’s Spring newsletter