Elevato Vigore Cascata

A rich hyper-real illustration of High Force Waterfall, in Northern England, with powerful thundering falls and serene pools below. Intense textures on the rock contrast with the silky glass smoothness of the water.

The word 'Force' itself comes from the Viking word for Waterfall, making the name a double redundancy. As a language enthusiast, this has always irked me, so the Latin title is deliberately ironic.

I wanted to re-create the darker textures of 18th Century English landscape paintings, which seem to blur the line between etching and painting. My starting point was a good deal of high dynamic range long exposure photography of the falls, which were digitally enhanced to bring out various details. Different elements from 4 separate HDR composites form different parts of this work. It is not possible to produce a single image which kept all the high-frequency detail I wanted in the rocks and moss, whilst keeping the polished glass feel of the water.

The Castle

A light, relaxed watercolour of Dunstanburgh Castle from across England's Northumbrian Shoreline, pale yellow orange glowing sky with light seas and seaweed.

I always feel excited when I can explore. Seeing a ruin in the distance - I have to investigate. It's a child-like feeling of adventure and discovery, even when the ruin is well known, it still feels like I'm discovering it for the first time. This part of the English coastline has several similar castles but the feeling is still there even when I spot a tumble-down cow shed in a field. I have to investigate.

This particular castle is my childish sense of adventure, it's the moment of 'Oh what's that in the distance? How do I get to it? The tide has come in and the beach route is cut off'. I gave the image itself simple, child-like easy colours, almost like a children's adventure book, and big simple swashes of watery colour.

44, The Shambles

A surreal, stylised illustration of York's most famous and oldest street, The Shambles. A variety of techniques including HDR and digital manipulation are used to create a fairytale, medieval feel with impossible colour.

A hooded, besandled figure carrying a lantern could be expected to appear from around any corner at any time. The history of The Shambles is as rich as the history of the City of York, one of my favourite places.

The venue '44 The Shambles' itself no longer exists but The Shambles will remain for as long as York stands. The city's famous Ghost Walks make appropriate use of the intense atmosphere found here.

Many people think The Shambles was used for the location filming of 'Diagon Alley' in the Harry Potter films. It was not - but it most certainly influenced the design. Many also associate the town of 'Ank Morpork' from Terry Pratchett's Discwold novels with this curious relic of a street.

I find the daytime tourists overwhelming and that The Shambles is best experienced after hours, when the history and atmosphere become thick and tangible.