My work is… based on the landscape I find myself surrounded by. I could be on a beach in Salalah in Oman, on The Island in St Ives in the UK or just off the Sheikh Khalifa Highway on Yas Island. It all depends on the time of year and where my family decides to travel on holiday. I am part of a rare breed of modern day artists who take their materials with them and work directly from the landscape rather than closed in a studio. A lot of contemporary artists don't see this approach as fashionable but by immersing myself in the elements I can record immediate experiences through my work. I paint in all weathers and all seasons, sometimes in the forty degree heat in Abu Dhabi or when rain is lashing down in the UK. I look at the environment to find an area of focus that attracts me and then I go about organising my gear.

I start a new piece… by working on sheets of hand-made Indian rag paper clipped to a board. The painting begins with water colour being applied rapidly, sometimes in detail, sometimes very loosely. Much splattering and pouring, scratching and rubbing takes place while I search for a combination of delicate, detailed areas that contrast with distressed mark-making. The surface is cut into and gouged by a knife blade or my fingernails to reveal the fresh white of the underlying paper. Ink is poured on and more water colours and acrylics are added. I might add pieces of paper that have been washed up on the shore. At all times I will be watching for changes in the weather conditions or sudden occurrences such as birds swooping or fish jumping so I can document them. Finally I will make field notes - such as the date, time, sounds, smells, people that I have experienced - as a way of recording and documenting the experience.
I try my best to… catch that feeling of the light on the sea, the surface of the water, the wind’s movement, the meeting of the water and the shore. Because I work with nature, I never know how long a composition will take.

In terms of colour… I like hues that reflect what I see so my palette consists of cerulean, cobalt and Prussian blues as well as viridian and phthalo greens that contrast with yellow ochres and burnt siennas. I like to use colour to convey the emotions I feel towards a place and therefore tend to throw colour on instinctively. The more atmospheric and intense the weather conditions the more dramatic and expressive my work becomes.

I take inspiration… in Abu Dhabi by walking or driving around in my truck where I store all my materials. This gives me the freedom to discover new, hidden areas. I try to find unusual features in the landscape such as variations in the appearance of the sea, or the atmospheric qualities of the mist floating over the mangroves. It might be the lichens that have created interesting surface qualities on rocks or a sudden patch of colourful flora, or even a shoal of fish swimming in the shallows.

By Angela Boshoff Hundal, <i>InsideOut</i> magazine

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Artist draws inspiration from surroundings