Landmarks Corner Piece No 2, natural earth pigment on incised board, 69cm x 69cm
Landmarks Corner Pieces, natural earth pigment on incised board, 52cm x 52cm
Landmark Sweep, natural earth pigment on incised board, 81cm x 81cm
Peter Horrocks
Peter Horrocks lives and works in Kington, north Herefordshire, where he was head of art and design at Lady Hawkins School for many years. His most recent solo exhibition was at the Silk Top Hat Gallery, Ludlow in 2007. Other recent exhibitions include Palace Art Festival at the Bishops Palace, Hereford, and Monochrome plus One at Studio 10, Hereford. He is a member of the Abstract Edge group of artists with whom he has exhibited widely in 2008, including at Ludlow Assembly Rooms, The Bond in Birmingham and Leominster Library. Peter also runs workshops, critical seminars and painting courses, and undertakes one-to-one tuition.
My work is characterised by a concern for abstraction, carefully constructed structures and a sensual handling of forms. Initial images are often drawn from landscape sources, but a variety of other concerns have influenced my work. I like to work on a series of images at the same time and enjoy the way the works interact with each other. Some works are presented in a triptych format where the interaction between the three pieces is a significant part of the work.
During the past few years I have been developing my use of drawing media in order to explore more fully the expressive qualities of mark making in my work. I use conventional graphite pencils, but also graphite powder, pure earth pigments and a variety of mark making tools, some to incise the paper or board to produce grooves into which pigment is rubbed, or blocks of graphite rubbed over to reveal a negative line.
My Landmarks works often use natural earth pigments from the place which inspired the work. I have sourced a range of ochres from the Clearwell Caves in the Forest of Dean which has inspired a series of works over the past few years. Another series inspired by my visit to Uluru (Ayers Rock) respects the sacred site, and Australian pigments were purchased from Sydney.
My works on the theme of Traces explores marks left behind in nature and their possible meaning. I am always more interested in small fragments of the landscape rather than the bigger picture. Drawing for me is an act of discovery. The works themselves are marks I leave behind, and in that sense, are traces where I have been in the creative process.
Peter Horrocks, 2008