Rather than art movements themselves, I feel my work has been influenced most by my creative interpretation of the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi and a belief in the positive outcomes of serendipity i.e. the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way!
Many Japanese philosophies embrace living in the moment and accepting 'the flow' and it is these concepts that influence my practice most. I work with the paint, with the colours and see where they take me - places I didn't even know I wanted to go!
It is important to me that the space I work in is set up so Wabi-Sabi can take place so I prepare the creative environment by setting out the 'palette', the tools and the 'blank canvas'. I am conscious of the theme I am working with e.g. water, co-existence, love and then I let the work just happen!
Some people call it intuition, some call it instinct or being in touch with our inner child! For me, it is about clearing my mind - getting thoughts out of the way so the creativity can take their place! I guess it is a form of meditation. I work on at least 2 pieces at a time. The next morning I will come in and take a look at what has been created the day before and work out what the pieces need next and how they need 'nurturing' with maybe some colour, some depth or some texture. The hardest part by far is knowing when to stop.