Here is a sample of artists whose work helps inform my own. It is an interesting record of how my own work has developed. Click on the images to take you to useful websites.
Daniel Sturgis

Daniel Sturgis came to talk at ECA. It was his use of the term 'equivalence' which registered with me. He works in series, each painting relating to the other. This too is what has informed my practice leading up to the degree show.
Toma Abts

I am drawn to the fact that she layers her paintings to suggest forms that are not there. I also like her simple geometric forms and blocks of colour.
Serpentine Galleries, London

A happy find when walking through Hyde Park, I stumbled upon Haim Steinbach and Martino Gamper's exhibitions - both based on objects. I was particularly dawn to the display pictured on the left. A series of objects were interpreted through drawings. This chimed with my own current practice which is taking an object, deconstructing in terms of colour, pattern, texture and form and reconstructing through paint.
Edmund de Waal

De Waal has informed my practice on so many levels. Initially I came across him when I read his book 'Hare with Amber Eyes' and was blown away by the investigation he made in regard to an inherited collection of netsuke. This was in tandem with doing a module on object biography at university. I came to realise that I too was making work on based on collections.
Gabriel Orozco

I saw Orozco's exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh and felt the penny drop. Borrowing his simple use of circles and the way in which he investigated one object, I followed his lead and subjected my found objects to similar investigative techniques. I also investigated the positioning of found object with paintings informed by that object when curating work in Project Spaces.
Blinky Polermo

Latterly my paintings have turned minimalist with solid blocks of colour. I have been influenced greatly by the way in which he relates his paintings to one another.
Wilhelmina Barns Graham

Another City Art Centre find. I found her work chimed with a lot of interersts of mine. The fact that she came from St Andrews and was part of the St Ives painting scene added weight. This particular painting gave me direction for a large painting I wanted to do on a project on beach objects.
Kurt Schwitters

I saw this exhibitioon at Tate Britain and loved the intimacy of his collages. It reignited a real passion for collage work - normally I use it in order to prepare for paintings but seeing Schwitters' work I now feel that they can be appreciated for the accomplished artwork they can be.
David Martin

David Martin was my tutor for the year I spent on the Painting Course at Leith School of Art. This painting 'Vessels' - I saw at the Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh. There was a real sense of presence and yearning which fitted with my project into object biography and the Nature versus Culture debate.
Joseph Cornell

I stumbled across him and his amazing cabinets of curiosity. I love the collections and relationships he creates. As part of my 3rd year research and development I created pieces using found materials, print matter and clay. These then were part of an installation called 'Fragmentation'' which was part of our 3rd year exhibition.
Victoria Crowe

There is so much about her work I find really interesting, not least being the layering of images and the atmosphere she creates. Her colour palette is calm and restful although the way she paints enlivens the surface and gives it great depth.
Rosamond Purcell

An American photographer. Her ability to find beauty in decay results in amazing images. I found her an inspiration when studying and attempting to find a visual language with which to explore the ageing process of objects.
Her book entitled Bookworm is highly recommended. I referred to her often during written work for Cultural Studies.
Her book entitled Bookworm is highly recommended. I referred to her often during written work for Cultural Studies.
Ian Hamilton Findlay

His life's work, sculpting and engineering managed gardens out of wilderness has long held my interest. The fact that his work encapsulates the Man/Nature debate and the fact that he places sculpture and literary references side by side in nature really appeals to me.
When I visited the garden I was struck by how rich it was in terms of planting and how the sculptural pieces served as punctuation marks within the planting. Situated as it is on the Pentland hills, it is a restful mediative place and one that can be 'read' in so many ways .
When I visited the garden I was struck by how rich it was in terms of planting and how the sculptural pieces served as punctuation marks within the planting. Situated as it is on the Pentland hills, it is a restful mediative place and one that can be 'read' in so many ways .
John Piper

I have so much respect for Piper as he was a man of many, many interests and skills. I especially love the way he handles light and colour in his paintings. His Coventry Cathedral series with its stain-glass properties evokes the spiritual and so finds humanity in war-torn ruins.
Sir William Gillies

I stumbled upon one of his paintings at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh and was so smitten I spent a long time researching his work, including a visit to his collection at the Museum of Modern Art in Edinburgh. I also based two pieces of critical appreciation for the Leith Foundation Course on aspects of his work. Finding out he hailed from the town I now live in and the fact that one of his paintings hangs in the school my children attended makes him and his work extremely personal to me.
Callum Innes

Combining a favourite gallery and artist. He is Scottish and his work relates to space and atmosphere. I heard him talk at Ingleby Gallery and found his lecture very helpful in practical terms. He seemed very open and approachable.
Sean Scully

The geometry and colour combinations appeal to me. As my studies at ECA have progressed my own work has become much more minimalistic. Scully's work seems to produce balance and harmony which I also seek to evoke.
Ian McKeever

I was lucky enough to catch Ian McKeever RA at the RSA in London. There were five large paintings titled Hartgrove Paintings made between 1992 and 1994 and an ongoing series of around 40 small black and white photographs made from 2007 onwards. The photographs resonated particularly with an interest of mine as their subject matter was specific to objects and incidents of light observed in the intimate, familiar space of his own home. Objects reduced to shadows and relections.
Kate Downie

I really like Kate's honest approach to her work and the space she conveys in her paintings. What is more - at a recent exhibition of her work she cited her sources of inspiration which included Joan Eardley and Sir William Gillies. Both of whom I have had the chance to study and admire.
Richard Long

I saw Richard Long's work at the Museum of Modern Art and loved his approach to sculpture in the outdoors, marrying the natural with the man-made. When I think of Long I also think of Ian Hamilton Findlay but am aware of a major difference in approach. IHF was all about imposing his will on the landscape, Long is about leaving no trace.
Joan Eardley

Her work is one of pure genious. She is one artist who has yet to have the full acclaim she deserves. Her landscapes have a wonderful wild, organic textural life which I would love to be able to capture. I have as yet to become as dedicated as her in terms of strapping the canvas down in order to work in the worst elements!
Margaret L Smyth

One of the finds at Pittenweem 2012. Loved the layering and the narrative.
Morag Muir

Another find of Pittenweem .She reminded me of Victoria Crowe.