I live in Cumbria, where we have more than enough hills, lakes, seascapes, villages, plants and animals to last a lifetime. I find, however, that my impressionistic/abstract style sometimes takes me in surprising directions, where the balance of colours and objects becomes more important than painting a recognisable landscape. Hence, I am usually unable to say, ‘This is a painting of Ullswater on a sunny July day.’ If you were to ask me, I would be more likely to respond, ‘This is a painting which I love, which was first formed in my mind when I was walking along a viaduct near my home, but then I wanted to allow phthalo blue to dominate because it is such an amazing colour, and then I needed to omit some mountains which seemed to clutter the horizon and add some trees to knit the foreground to the hills.’