Background and Inspiration in Fay’s own words
I became a full-time painter in 2012 having graduated with a First Class Honours in Fine Art Textiles/Fashion and followed by a 20 year career teaching Art & Design in Secondary/Tertiary education. My love for landscape continues to inspire my creative output and moving through places full of natural wonder provides infinite material for painting. Having had innumerable experiences in outdoor adventure school trips and pursuing my own hillwalking and mountaineering interests I have had a rich journey through places that are full of contrasting states: wild and cultivated, arid and verdant, rugged and fragile, ever-changing and apparently constant. The particular quality of light and space in the North West of the UK particularly, draws me in to explore the diverse, visual aspects of geology, meteorology and botany. I marvel at the energy, abundance and diversity of life’s forces and I am continuously intrigued by the idea that visual qualities of landscape often appear timeless and constant yet are often tangibly dynamic. Light conditions due to our ever-changing weather emphasises a ‘Romantic’ feel in some of my work (so I’ve been told) and I like to think that that my paintings evoke a poetic sense of connection with the natural world.