Bush – may seem a strange title or subject for a painting, perhaps it is too generic and mundane, after all a type of woody plant is not exotic or seductive. Of course a bush can have a purpose; one can hide in or behind it, when part of a hedge, it can obscure from view things we wish not to see or create boundaries we don’t want crossed. Moses spoke to God in a Bush and many an amorous couple have found love there.

The structure of Bush is regular, ordered and cultivated. We try to look around, over and through its form, only to have our view blocked and obscured. This forces our gaze elsewhere, into a different type of space. A space of painting: a space where its surface, weight, pace, depth of colour, opacity transparency, centre and edge, jostle for our attention. Perhaps it asks who are you and what are you doing here? In the poem ‘Lost’ by David Wagoner we read:

If what a tree or bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you