Although there’s almost always a horizon line, or the remnants of one,  he throws the traditional ideas of sky, land and sea into ambiguity.

The glorious pieces of impasto paint which are so distinctive in his work provide a fragmented way of seeing the world and it’s almost impossible for the viewer not to feel some response to the energy and movement generated in his work.

Colin has painted for 35 years and has exhibited in over 20 solo shows. He won the Mosman Alan Gamble Memorial Art Prize and has been finalist in many others. He was Arthouse Gallery’s featured artist at Sydney Contemporary last year and his show The Modernist 2020 with Scott Livesey Galleries in Melbourne opened a few days after this interview was recorded in May 2020.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Colin has lived and worked in many places across the globe from London to New York and across Australia, but it’s in Queensland’s idyllic Noosa Hinterland where he and his wife, jewellery designer Katrina Pennock, have settled for the last 10 years.

I talk with Colin about his life and work, including his experiences working as a teenage police officer during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, witnessing the horror of 9/11, finding his visual language in Australia, colour, composition and more.

He is represented by galleries in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and London (see below).

Scroll down to see a short video of excerpts from the podcast interview and footage of Colin in his studio.

Above photo by Carl Warner