Lee (from Hereford):  “….it would be of great interest to know how Turner has influenced you as an artist……”

I was introduced to JMW Turners work on my first visit to the Tate Gallery, London, when I was an A level student (some time ago!).  I remember being amazed by all his techniques, in particular the pencil drawings and small watercolours in his leather bound sketchbooks.  Initially I was drawn to the dramatic lighting of his early pieces “Fishermen at Sea” and “Snowstorm: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps”, mainly because of the strong tonal contrast.  However, it was his amazing layering of oils and the fluid approach to his paint application that really inspired me.  I loved, and still do, the harmonious transitions of colour, and the way the atmospheric skies appear to melt into the landscapes.  The later canvases from a trip to Venice, are amazing, were the visual content is almost invisible within the painterly surface of sky and water.