CHANGE. . .
My work often develops through long-term projects rooted in observation and the passage of time. Whether recording the changing sky above Portsmouth, painting the seasonal life of a garden, or exploring the rhythms of the sea, each project begins with sustained looking and a curiosity about how light, weather and atmosphere shape our experience of place.
The projects presented here reflect different aspects of that continuing enquiry. The Southsea Weather Project explores the ever-changing skies above the city; The Garden Paintings focus on an intimate landscape observed through the seasons; and Time & Tide returns to the maritime subjects that have informed much of my life as a sailor and artist.
1. The Southsea Weather Project
The WEATHER has been a lifelong obsession.
As a schoolboy, I was the school meteorologist, recording rainfall, temperatures, wind strength and direction and most importantly barometric pressure. I also recorded cloud cover and type and this has become a daily routine. Looking and recording is essentially what artists do – the good ones add poetry or a particular spin.
This project is simple, it involves taking daily photographs of the western sky with my iPad. I have three floors in my Southsea house and at the front of the house I have a velux window that overlooks the City and the iconic Spinnaker Tower. Virtually every evening I climb a step ladder to reach the window, which I open and capture at least one image, usually at or just sunset. I am not looking for pretty sunsets, I am looking for interesting clouds that are illuminated by the dying sun. I am also intrigued by seasonal CHANGE and the position of the sun in relation to the silhouetted rooftops. I endeavour to frame the composition in such a way that I am not being intrusive to my neighbours and I like at least two thirds sky with just the roofs of the houses opposite.
I am not a photographer. I am an artist who takes photos. The majority are captured with an iPhone or iPad. For me photography is visual research for drawings, linocuts or paintings .
As part of my, three year course in graphic design, I spent a couple of days a week learning the basics of documentary, studio photography and processing. I enjoyed the subject at art college and throughout my life, I have documented the world around me. Since those heady days of the late 60’s and early 70’s photography has changed immeasurably – now it is more sophisticated and with the advent of digital photography and smart phones it has captured the imagination of an entire generation and made photographers of us all.
I draw every day and obsessively take lots of photos (my iPad is never far from my paintbox).
My landscape heroes, JMW Turner and John Constable, were both prolific documenters of the weather and I have long been inspired by their observations of cloud formations and light.
Project 2. Time and Tide
Time and Tide is a series of paintings inspired by the coast, the sea, and the shifting edge between land and water. Rooted in the East Coast of England and the Suffolk shoreline, the work explores weather, erosion, tide, light, and movement — the changing conditions that shape both landscape and memory.
I am especially interested in liminal spaces: those moments where a scene feels suspended between calm and force, observation and recollection. Ships, yachts, and maritime forms may appear as occasional motifs, but the series is primarily concerned with the wider atmosphere of sea, sky, and shoreline.
Working in oil and watercolour, I aim to create paintings that balance structure and spontaneity, offering a sense of place that is contemplative, contemporary, and quietly immersive.
Detail of “Cabin Fever” (Birdham) copyright Chris N Wood acrylic and artisan oil Overall Size 16”x20”x1.5”
”Roost” acrylic copyright Chris N Wood 40cms x 40cms (15.75”x15.75”)
Project 3. The Garden Paintings 2024 –
This collection now has its own page. Click the top navigation menu to take you on a tour around my Southsea garden and to discover why I decided to explore the minutiae of these “mini landscapes”
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