Landscape painting has a fine and honourable tradition and I could give a long list of painters whose craft I greatly admire and to whom I owe a deep gratitude for the invaluable education they have provided and continue to do so. 
When asked who my greatest influences are however, my mind goes to a number of contemporary artists in different disciplines whose work has made a great impact upon me. The common thread is that their work enables me to really feel something and stays with me long after the experience itself. I constantly seek to understand how they have achieved this and what I can learn from them in how I approach my drawing and painting. I would like to acknowledge the important impact and value of their work.

Simon McBurney / Complicité - The Encounter  Wear headphones to watch this trailer in order to get an idea of the immersive experience of this incredible piece of theatre.
Janet Rand - Poem titled ‘RISK' 
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool, 
To weep is to risk being called sentimental. 
To reach out to another is to risk involvement. 
To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self. 
To place your ideas and your dreams before the crowd is to risk being called naive. 
To love is to risk not being loved in return. 
To live is to risk dying. 
To hope is to risk despair, To try is to risk failure. 
But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing. 
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. 
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love. 
Chained by his certitude, he is a slave; he has forfeited his freedom. 
Only the person who risks is truly free.   

Often attributed to the poet and thinker, Leo Buscaglia, the real author of this inspirational verse is Janet Rand.