Andy Waite's work is about exploring our connection to land and water - the essence of a place and the emotion aroused, be it a glimpse of the night garden, the curve of a lake's edge or the tumbling lines of the allotment, and it is this emotional response that is in mind when paint is applied, so horizons blur and colour saturates to create an abstracted memory.
He makes many thumbnail sketches and uses photography, both as ways of noting colour, form and mood and these are interpreted in the studio with the best results achieved with a high level of concentration together with a certain letting go, where something 'other' takes over. It feels important to avoid too much of a pre-conceived notion of how a painting should conclude so that a piece of work can evolve, breathe and exist on its own without attachment.
"We are of the earth, we walk on the land and take so much from it, we drink the water and immerse ourselves in it, and there is something primal about these simple actions that we take daily, and recording my reactions to being in any particular location feels vital as a way of connecting with spirit, with planet, and ultimately with other people."
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