The Forest Floor/2019.

Here is a short clip of me walking through one of my regular routes in the forest. This was a typical day of collecting documentation and research of the place in the form of photos and drawings, as well as paying attention to the feelings and emotion I feel as I walk. Sensory experience is also important. Smells of the forest floor, the wood, water and leaves are all deeply rooted in my fabrication of this place when I come to depict it in my art work, creating the right atmosphere . The video was a way of capturing some of the sounds and sights I am experiencing that influence my paintings so heavily. I see this video as quite a personal thing, as it is a look into where I go and what I do to be alone. It shows the physicalness of me moving through the the forest, my foot steps through the mud and meticulous balance through the stream obstructing my path.

(Abbie Smith, The Forest Floor, Video documentation with a camera, 46 seconds duration, 2019).

The work draws inspiration from artists who also use psychogeography as a method of creating artwork. George Shaw for example also paints his home town. The paintings showcase the mundane reality of the landscape for many people in Britain, which is why they are so appealing, they are something familiar. I also like that in his work the landscapes are often void of any human figures, instead there are just traces of where they have been. Because of this the figurative elements in the work such as trees and post boxes hold a character of their own. I see this effect also in my paintings, for example Aboribus, 2019 and Ghost, 2020, where the painted trees hold a certain dominance in the landscape or unique character. Below are some example sketches and small sketchbook paintings that are used in combination for larger works.