Solo Exhibition “Dream” September 2025
This exhibition, called Dream, is the first of two I’m showing this Autumn, in the beautiful space of the Arcadia Gallery in Portrush.
“Dream” is loosely about imagination, how we perceive the world (all differently) and how it makes us feel. Recurring themes include the power of imagination, the unreliability of memory; how our brains try to make sense of the signals they receive, and how one person’s ugly can be another person’s beautiful. I for example find beauty in the patina of age and decay, something lamented by most.
Our differing past experiences mean we all interpret the same thing differently. While this can lead to difficulty in communication, it is also something to celebrate.
You will find a lot of abstract pieces. I increasingly regard abstract as the purest form of art. It’s about creating new forms of beauty rather than copying or riffing with what already exists. You’ll also find a lot of the latter - paintings riffing with reality - but not much straight depiction of reality. It is called Dream after all
1. Merger of sky land & sea, oil on canvas, £350 While it is normal to find clear and sunny days beautiful, I find beauty when inclement weather causes the elements of a landscape to blur and fuse together.
2. Epiphany in Red Ochre, oil on deep canvas, £590 A recurring theme in my work is the magnificence of nature. What is it that makes us stop in awe when, for example, shafts of light pierce through clouds? I take those elements and put them into a different or abstract context, to see if they can generate a similar feeling.
6. Abstract “Distressed Mediterranean wall” oil on canvas, £320 I love the patina of age, whether on leather, wood, silver, plaster and even people. There are several paintings here celebrating that process.
7. Stained glass, oil on dense card framed, £290
8. Abstract “Coral” textured oil on canvas, £450
9. Abstract “Sea Storm” oil on canvas, £590
11. “Angels’s wings at sunset” oil on dense card, framed. £190
12. Abstract landscape,oil on canvas, £590
13. Patina in pistachio, oil on dense card, framed, £250
15. Blue Luminosity, oil on board, hand enamelled frame £690
16. “Deep” Oil on board, framed. £450
17. Scarlet Seascape, oil on deep canvas, £395 Early in his painting career, the great JMW Turner was mocked by critics for the imprecision of his works. He explained that if one depicts things precisely, “it leaves no room for the viewer.”. I always try to leave plenty of room for the viewer, sometimes exploring just how far one can push that idea - as here.
18. The Lake, oil on canvas, £950 This draws on various lakes I have know, including Hillsborough and tthe Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park. I’m trying to capture the sense of space they afford, so very welcome when living in a city.
19. Moorland in Autumn, oil on board, framed £650
20. Dreamscape, acrylic on canvas, £550 I’m very interested in how we perceive things, how the brain makes sense of the bits of information that reach it through the eyes, and how that process continues even when things make no sense. Dreams seem to be an example of that, the brain trying to weave all sorts of random elements into a coherent whole. My dreamscapes are a play on this. Superficially they look like landscape paintings, but on closer inspection, they make no sense at all.
21. Remembered Walk in the Mourne Mountains, Oil on board, distressed frame, £790 The distressed paint style and frame reflect the way memories corrupt over time; the vibrant colours reflect how fond memories can also become exaggerated. But mainly, it reflects the glory of the Mourne Mountains.
22. Storm over Loch Fyne, oil on board, framed, £690 The west coast of Scotland competes with the Antrim coast in my affections. Loch Fyne and other parts of Argyll & Bute are definitely dream-worthy.
22a. Hillside Fields, oil on dense card framed, £290
23. Dancing Sea, oil on canvas, £400 I love dancing almost as much as I love painting, and sometimes do both at the same time. This is an example of the result.
24. Textured Patina, Oil on dense card, framed. £190
25. Inishfree, Donegal, oil on board, framed, £490 Yeats’ great poem dreamt about a different place - the Lake Isle of Innisfree on Lough Gill, County Sligo - but Innishfree in Donegal is also dream-worthy.
26. Abstract “Forest Fire”, oil & alcohol ink on board, framed, £850 One of my favourites
27. Abstract ”Jhin Genie” Oil on cradled wood panel. £750
28. Seascape through window panes, £950 Oil on dense pressed card and cloth. Painted as 9 individual paintings, each with its own qualities but forming a coherent whole. Inspired by the way window panes can form views with the view, enhancing one’s appreciation of the whole. This work dreams of being carried in hand luggage to foreign parts. The cloth can be removed from the frame, folded for travel, and easily re-framed at the other end.
29. The Ghost of Mary Graham, oil on board, framed £1,200 After Gainsborough and…. The Honourable Mrs Graham (Mary) was a Scottish aristocrat married to an English aristocrat, a great beauty and darling of society in Georgian London. Gainsborough painted her portrait in 1777. Shortly after, she contracted TB, withered and died, so that portrait represents the height of her of her powers. If she had a ghost,surely it would resemble her at that time. This painting is in part a Memento Mori, “Remember you die”. All her wealth and position could not save her. In the Gainsborough portrait, the pillar on
30. Smudge on the Horizon, oil on board, framed £1,100 Inspired by the explanation that the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh supposedly gave to Queen Elizabeth I, of the feeling when, after weeks on the open sea, you see “a smudge on the horizon” which may or may not be land.
31. Merger of Land, Sea & Sky, Oil on board, framed £590
33. Patina in Teal, oil on dense card, framed, £290
34. Evening cloud flare, oil on canvas, £690
36. Cloudscape over Portrush, oil on canvas, £690
38. Mellow, oil on canvas, £590
39. Life dances and decays, oil on canvas, £850 I showed an earlier version here last year, called “Life Dances” I have since enriched it with the patina of age and decay, such an essential part of the cycle of life.
40. So much bigger than us, oil on canvas, £1100 I love the sea, but it also scares me. The arrival of storm season makes me happy, and I capture many a storm from my studio overlooking the sea and Skerries. (Please visit the next show “Swell” for more local seascapes). But this one is based on imagination of how scary one of those storms must be if you were out at sea. If you look closely, you’ll see an underlying motif resembling flock wallpaper. This represents civilisation and security, which the sea completely overwhelms.
41. Abstract in Vermillion, oil on canvas, £550
42. Tumultuous sea, Oil on canvas, £350
43. Serpentine, oil on canvas, £350
45. “We are all a part of many tribes,”. Oil on canvas board, £490 Inspired by the Simultanist movement of the early 20th Century. Each of the small triangles forms a part of multiple larger ones, and each time you look, different larger ones will seem dominant.
46. Triangles in Purple & Gold, acrylic on canvas board, unframed £150 Simultanist, see no 45
47. Abstract squares, acrylic on canvas board, unframed £150
48. Abstract oil on dense card, framed, £190
49. Triangles in gold and powder blue, acrylic, chalk paint, metallic & varnish, framed, £190 Simultanist, see no 45
49. Abstract storm, oil on dense card, framed
1. Merger of sky land & sea, oil on canvas, £350 While it is normal to find clear and sunny days beautiful, I find beauty when inclement weather causes the elements of a landscape to blur and fuse together.
2. Epiphany in Red Ochre, oil on deep canvas, £590 A recurring theme in my work is the magnificence of nature. What is it that makes us stop in awe when, for example, shafts of light pierce through clouds? I take those elements and put them into a different or abstract context, to see if they can generate a similar feeling.
1. Stained glass, oil on dense card framed, £290
1. Abstract “Coral” textured oil on canvas, £450
Tumultuous sea
Evening cloud flare, oil on canvas, £690
28. The Ghost of Mary Graham, oil on board, framed £1,200 After Gainsborough and…. The Honourable Mrs Graham (Mary) was a Scottish aristocrat married to an English aristocrat, a great beauty and darling of society in Georgian London. Gainsborough painted her portrait in 1777. Shortly after, she contracted TB, withered and died, so that portrait represents the height of her of her powers. If she had a ghost,surely it would resemble her at that time. This painting is in part a Memento Mori, “Remember you die”. All her wealth and position could not save her. In the Gainsborough portrait, the pillar on
Smudge on the Horizon, oil on board, framed £1,100 Inspired by the explanation that the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh supposedly gave to Queen Elizabeth I, of the feeling when, after weeks on the open sea, you see “a smudge on the horizon” which may or may not be land.
Moorland in Autumn, oil on board, framed £650
Life dances and decays, oil on canvas, £850 I showed an earlier version here last year, called “Life Dances” I have since enriched it with the patina of age and decay, such an essential part of the cycle of life.
Inishfree, Donegal, oil on board, framed, £490 Yeats’ great poem dreamt about a different place - the Lake Isle of Innisfree on Lough Gill, County Sligo - but Innishfree in Donegal is also dream-worthy.
23. Dancing Sea, oil on canvas, £400 I love dancing almost as much as I love painting, and sometimes do both at the same time. This is an example of the result.
Blue Luminosity, oil on board, hand enamelled frame £690
Storm over Loch Fyne, oil on board, framed, £690 The west coast of Scotland competes with the Antrim coast in my affections. Loch Fyne and other parts of Argyll & Bute are definitely dream-worthy.
2. Dreamscape, acrylic on canvas, £550 I’m very interested in how we perceive things, how the brain makes sense of the bits of information that reach it through the eyes, and how that process continues even when things make no sense. Dreams seem to be an example of that, the brain trying to weave all sorts of random elements into a coherent whole. My dreamscapes are a play on this. Superficially they look like landscape paintings, but on closer inspection, they make no sense at all.
Seascape through window panes, £950 Oil on dense pressed card and cloth. Painted as 9 individual paintings, each with its own qualities but forming a coherent whole. Inspired by the way window panes can form views with the view, enhancing one’s appreciation of the whole. This work dreams of being carried in hand luggage to foreign parts. The cloth can be removed from the frame, folded for travel, and easily re-framed at the other end.
1. Abstract “Sea Storm” oil on canvas, £590
4. Abstract landscape,oil on canvas, £590
4. Serpentine, oil on canvas, £350
Triangles in Purple & Gold, acrylic on canvas board, unframed £150
8. Abstract squares, acrylic on canvas board, unframed £150
So much bigger than us, oil on canvas, £1100 I love the sea, but it also scares me. The arrival of storm season makes me happy, and I capture many a storm from my studio overlooking the sea and Skerries. (Please visit the next show “Swell” for more local seascapes). But this one is based on imagination of how scary one of those storms must be if you were out at sea. If you look closely, you’ll see an underlying motif resembling flock wallpaper. This represents civilisation and security, which the sea completely overwhelms.
Scarlet Seascape, oil on deep canvas, £395 Early in his painting career, the great JMW Turner was mocked by critics for the imprecision of his works. He explained that if one depicts things precisely, “it leaves no room for the viewer.”. I always try to leave plenty of room for the viewer, sometimes exploring just how far one can push that idea - as here.
Abstract “Distressed Mediterranean wall” oil on canvas, £320 I love the patina of age, whether on leather, wood, silver, plaster and even people. There are several paintings here celebrating that process.
Hillside Fields, oil on dense card framed, £290
Mellow, oil on canvas, £590
Abstract in Vermillion, oil on canvas, £550