Kevin Ryan

The landscape is continuously modified by Man and my work, while bearing witness to this, seeks to go further by developing a dialogue between personal response and physical structure. Thus I attempt to impart in my paintings a sense of travelling through the landscape, of being in it and being surrounded by it. They are, therefore, not isolated depictions but ongoing experiences. In essence I am looking to reinvent the landscape I see before me.

I relish immersing myself in the landscape and being fascinated by all its different aspects – geological structure, landform and surface qualities. I am also interested in any clues or indications I might find in its current topography regarding its previous history and existence. I spend considerable time thinking about all these factors and only then do I start to paint. This is often a time of trepidation and anticipation, and, occasionally, exhilaration. But there is always a pleasure in using colour, in moving the paint around, the mark-making, the gradual build-up of glazes and the addition and subtraction of pigment.