Maria Floyd

ABOUT MARIA

“I take my sketchbook and I sit and record what I see and how it is influencing me as an experience. I am trying to capture a fleeting moment, clouds passing, the movement of the wind across the sea or landscape. The wind and the rain often physically affect the work when I am out exposed to the elements and I build that into the drawing or painting.

Every time I start to draw it is different, the light is constantly changing, shadows are moving and also the way I respond on that day. When I sit and contemplate my surroundings, it feels new each time, sometimes still and peaceful, other times with a sea breeze or a storm brewing. Walking in the landscape and along the coast is fundamental to my work and from this experience I can begin to make visual notes. My aim is to capture an image which is in the process of moving and disappearing and I use a variety of materials, often using found objects such as twigs or feathers. Drawing and paintings are made in situ using gestural and expressive marks.

When I return to my studio, I use the sketchbook to develop the drawings into paintings. The notes and visual studies that I have made lead me to respond on a larger scale on the studio piece. I have my drawings to hand as I use expressive marks and brushstrokes to maintain the energy and sense of spontaneity in the original sketch.”