"Melting Blocks", 70x50cm, chalk pastel. Jan 2025.
Massive ice blocks stand erect in an open, Dali-like landscape facing their inevitable demise. On the horizon, we see a white industrial landscape including a factory in the shape of a humanoid robot. The layered chalk work emphasizes the fluidity of form, inviting viewers to contemplate the transient nature of constructs. A pool of meltwater has already formed in the foreground and offers an invitation to reflect... are we destined for an energy hungry, AI-led future, that consumes the natural world?
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Instagram"A Woman in Thought", 110x70cm, chalk pastel. 2010.
"This image is a love story. Following a show in Berlin in Sept 2009, I was introduced to a remarkable woman who left a strong impression on me. We connected. We talked. No photographs were captured but phone numbers were shared. Months later in Prague I sat down to create an image of a 'woman of the world' with features representing many continents. What my fingers and pastels unconsciously followed was the contours of the face I had met in Berlin, albeit with African hair :) I was stunned and also too terrified to attempt to complete the picture for fear if ruining its serenity. I decided to leave the entire background empty, only covering it in a hazy white air which hinted at meditation. The viewer is asked to share this moment of calm contemplation with the woman that soon became my partner. The subject met her own "portrait" in July 2010 when this picture was exhibited at Prague Castle." Ray Gibson
"The Flames of Missed Opportunity", 40x40cm, chalk pastel. Mar 2025.
This dreamscape delves into the emotions of regret and inaction. The artist is seen standing in his black and white stage costume with an open notebook, pages flying into the fire. Rocks and stones lay bare on the ground, billowing smoke has singed the air and a leafless tree stands alone in the middle distance. There are no streams, no greenery or snowy-peaked mountains to distract us. All shadows point toward the unforgiving fire.
"Theo", 70x50cm, chalk pastel. May 2025.
"We were walking our 9-month old dog, Theo, through Haarlem and were greeted by a fantastic evening sky. Sunset-lit pink clouds floated above a luminescent yellow horizon. I imagined a landscape where the foreground held an illusion of a dry straw field, but was actually the furry back of our gorgeous dog. Wispy hairs on the right of Theo's shoulder are the strongest hint of our canine friend in motion past the viewer. Yellow is my favourite colour, and I added multiple layers of yellow pastel and fixing spray to the lower sky, plus reflections of the yellow sky across Theo's back. Overall, this picture expresses the joy of being outdoors with our new best friend." Ray Gibson
"Poppies", 50x50cm, chalk pastel. May 2025.
Poppies are rendered in delicate tones against an overcast sky in light rain. Spring and summer months around the Kennemer dunes of Noordwijk aan Zee and Zandvoort offer multiple phases of weather, often within a single hour. Rain drops cling to flowers and the soaked ground gives life to the green between the sands. Poppies symbolize remembrance and the fragile beauty of life, while the falling drops gives energy and motion to the piece. We're reminded that the landscape is restless, fragile and ever changing.
"The End of Summer", 110x70cm, chalk pastel. 2010.
Penguins endure extreme hardship, together. They march across the ice at the end of each summer's feeding to face the long dark nights of the Antarctic cold on its central land masses at the bottom of the world. The sky transitions from left to right, from yellow to cool grey. The ice wall behind the penguins symbolizes their inability to escape their environment. But, just as in many communities, this is just how things are... the penguins carry their heads high.
"Winter Moon", 70x70cm, chalk pastel.
A striking image that contrasts stillness and motion, utilizing cool tones and stark imagery to explore themes of pause and progression. This picture is connected to a song recorded with The Roads in in 2010, "To Leave Her".
"Stop", 70x70cm, chalk pastel.
Painted as a pair with "Winter Moon" the very next day, this picture evokes the pure and white stillness of freshly laid snow. We see the powdery snow drifted up against tree trunks and stumps and a thick sky that promises more snow.
"In Exile", 45x70cm, chalk pastel
In the face of credible threats to his life at the hands of the Chinese invaders, the Dalai Lama was forced to flee Tibet in 1959. This portrait sets a shining spiritual figure against a dark background - a symbol of his displacement and isolation. His Holiness is captured in a moment full of colour, life and peaceful resilience.
"First Swim", 45x45cm, chalk pastel
A photographic moment, captured in chalk pastel. This image is an experimentation of light and reflections. A few simple bubbles remind us we are under water, and the reflections in the water's surface above mother and child mirror the scene. Overall, the image carries the gentle blue hue of a swimming pool. Tiles in the background are hinted at rather than depicted fully, so as not to distract from the main subject.
"The Lighthouse Keeper" 60x40cm, chalk pastel and "The Keeper at the Sea" original song
The artist describes a figure keeping the sea from the land and the land from the sea with forces and characters unseen in the natural world. We can almost pick out signs of life in the yellow glow of the lighthouse top. We also notice the white crests of the waves crashing on the rocks are spread out like a hand, aiming to claw the structure down into the sea. The pastel strokes especially in the sea, are raw and vivid. The image composition is heavily influenced by Caspar David Friedrich's "Monk by the Sea" which the artist viewed in Berlin's Alte Nationalgalerie.
"A Jellyfish Caught Between Thoughts" 120x70cm, chalk pastel
A single jellyfish is set against a vast blue ocean stretching out to infinity. There is no perspective and no boundaries to restrict our imagination. The artist offers a gentle gradient from darker to lighter blue as the eye travels upwards, which creates a feeling of lightness and optimism.
"Pollinators", 45x30cm, chalk pastel. Feb 2025.
Celebrating the unseen agents of growth, this picture uses vibrant hues to highlight the essential role of pollinators in our ecosystem. Wild flowers share the same subtle white tones as the clouds so that the two bees are the stars of the show, set against a rich blue sky. The viewer is invited to breathe in and drink the thick, springtime air.
"The Silk Bag" 40x40cm, Oil
In this darker composition, the artist attempts to draw us down into an insect world of wonder, where ants and bugs are gathered around a magical space on a forest floor. Leaves and ferns are painted thickly in oil to create deep, rich textures.
"Nebula 1" and "Nebula 2" 70x50cm, chalk pastel
"I've been in love with astronomy since my Uncle Malcolm introduced me to the solar system as a boy and played me 'The Planets' by Holst. Nebula 1 here is inspired by real The Horsehead Nebula and Nebula 2 is inspired by our own Mercator map of Earth. Chalk pastel is the perfect medium to express the ethereal nature of dust and gas in space, and the incubation of new stars and new life." Ray Gibson
Photography and photo editing
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