At first my main concern is capturing the feeling of a certain landscape by emphasizing the light and colour of it rather than making an exact representation. Once I have the main shapes on the canvas it is necessary to be selective about what goes on the painting, this is crucial to the work's success or failure. The energy in the paintings is produced by using small canvas' and having to work quickly in unpredictable weather conditions. With the wind and rain in your face it is difficult to see how a picture is progressing and it is not until you get back to the studio you realise whether they work as paintings. The pictures seem to be a visual and emotional diary of my life - the good and bad days!

For a while I have been painting quite small on board and canvas which is primed in various acrylic colours, most importantly they have to be portable for travel. A great problem of mine is not being able to stay long enough in a place to produce larger paintings. I commuted out of Manchester to the Peak District several days a week but the light was never the same the next day. Most of my work is about landscapes and their variety. My usual way of working is to produce a lot of work by going out everyday and sifting through for the best after I have got back to the studio.

Now I am embarking on a new phase of work which is less based on the landscape and more about abstract shapes and colour, creating more luminous artworks than ever before with the use of ink on canvas. This project still has some way to go.

The photographs on show are all taken around the River Thames in the late afternoon. I haven't used a camera at all for my landscape painting but I'm just realising what kind of textures and atmosphere you can create with photography. I am looking forward to doing some more.

I am now based in London, England.

Henrietta Loades-Carter

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