At the moment I am exhibiting in a group exhibition of the Peat Appreciation Society (PAS), in Gibson Mill. This runs from January 23rd until April 26th. Up till March 28th Gibson Mill is open from Friday until Sunday from 10am until 3pm. After that time it will be open 7 days a week from 10am until 4pm.

Peat Appreciation Society (PAS) is an art centred collective which aims to raise awareness and celebrate Peat. It joins together critically engaged creative people for open ended discussions and collaboration. It aims to deepen and share the knowledge and skill of their creative processes and aims for excellence within their practice.

PAS showcases work together and promotes the value of peat as a unique and highly valuable biodiverse habitat, an immense carbon store and a natural flood defence. It celebrates the natural, cultural and archeological heritage of peatlands in the UpperCalder Valley – a community within the Great North Bog.

My oil paintings for this exhibition are based on watercolour paintings I made in-situ at Ogden Water and in Kerry, Ireland. The superb reflections, of artists, on that bright day inspired a painting.  A group of us gathered to examine the created Bunds and plant Sphagnum Moss. It hopefully records a bit of time important to us all.

The sad scene of the peat cuttings amongst the beautiful Kerry Hills in Ireland also gave me the inspiration to create a picture. This along with the healthy regeneration of the Sphagnum in the ditches gave another reason to paint these pictures.