The county of Sutherland in the extreme north of Scotland was the "Southern Land" of the Vikings.  It has three coastlines, is the least inhabited area of mainland Britain and has the country's most fantastic hill (Suilven).

I grew up in Sutherland in the post-war years.  It was then pristine and the scenery was pure.  Only one of its roads had two lanes.  This vast land was undiscovered and at art school I started to paint it because I wanted to show everyone what it was like.

It has always been the main subject of my work.  In recent years I have travelled further north to see if I could find what I call "Sutherland, exaggerated."  I visited Iceland and Greenland; I found what I had sought, and my abstracted landscapes represent all three places.

My work is painting-in-sections.  I use a collage method I've invented which allows much control and consideration of composition.

Collage methods can enable infinite variations of an image to be tried out easily, in a "pick 'n' mix" manner.  The main benefit of the one I've invented is it avoids the restrictions caused by gluing pieces before the composing is complete.  Furthermore, it ensures that the composed image, initially adhered with adhesive tape, is not lost when it is taken apart to be glued.

In 2005 the method featured in Issue 41 of International Artist Magazine.