Between the 1960's and the 80's I became interested in the possibilities of low relief sculptural abstraction.
I had collected small random objects for use in the creative drama classes I was then teaching. I saw what a colleague was doing with his pupils covering textured surfaces with tin foil and then painting them. I also saw the pieces by contemporary Italian artists which were on tour in Christchurch, and relief cast iron work by a German sculptor. I used a slab of modelling clay and my collection of random objects to impress patterns into it to make a negative mould. Then I used fibre glass filler to cast the positive surface, so replicating the patterns I had created.
The castings were then backed and painted with oils in various ways. Some works appear as a paean to the age of machinery, some as weird imaginary animals, others take on an almost mythological appearance..
Have a look below at a few of my works that are available for sale