Paint Fit Online Exhibition: Rikki Morgan-Tamosunas

Much of my painting is about places which have a particular meaning for me. I have been gradually moving away from more literal representations to a more expressive, gestural response to the mood and feel of ‘being there’ at a particular moment.

The Paint Fit retreat was a really valuable, concentrated opportunity to reflect on this, and exchange thoughts, challenges and ideas in a very open and supportive way with other artists on their own creative journeys, at the same time as trying out some new approaches. Crucially, it helped me to develop a much sharper focus on the subject of the new work I have been working on since then around the constantly shifting interplay between land, water and light in the Cambridgeshire fenland. The paintings and sketches here are part of that journey of exploring and experimenting with colour, line and mark-making, as well as with the artmaking process itself.

This is still work in progress - drawing on some fascinating local history archive research as well as sketching, photographing and gathering ‘tools’ and materials out in the fens. The physical process of using and inscribing these materials into the work – soaking fen water into paper, mixing it into the paint and running and pooling it across surfaces, scratching and drawing with twigs, stones, stalks and reeds, incorporating collaged elements – seems to help me to understand and get closer to these mysterious and enigmatic places. Although their actual presence may be invisible, somehow embedding these ingredients within the fabric of the work gives it a stronger resonance for me.