without hesitation: “Enlightenment. Without a doubt. My children were scared of thunderstorms, and I wanted to help them turn their fear into an appreciation of nature. I wanted them to see the beauty that I see...so we started chasing storms, photographing them and then painting them.” Despite travelling extensively both in his former career in motor sports, and in his pursuit of his craft, space remains an unconquered frontier, and an endless source of inspiration for Rowan. In an effort to do justice to its magnitude, on one painting alone he painstakingly added in 2,500 stars with the tip of a scalpel. Taking into account the precision required through the painstaking technique that Rowan uses, this is no small undertaking. Ironically, as the artist himself admits, “The better the piece, the less people notice the level of detail...their eye is taken with the complete picture.” However, it matters not to Rowan if viewers are engrossed by the detail, charmed by the image or awed by his technique; if his work has the power to elevate our mood and provide respite from the world around us, he has succeeded.
New Horizons carries within it not only the promise of faraway lands, but also the warmth and comfort of an element much closer to home, and infinitely more relatable; family. Rowan’s love for his wider family and friends radiates through to us throughout this collection. Take the time to notice the flight of birds in these pieces. Where you see two bigger birds and two smaller birds, you are in fact looking at Rowan’s depiction of him, his wife and their two children, happily together as a strong family unit. One bigger bird with the smaller ones symbolise times that Rowan’s work has demanded time away from his family, and is his way of showing that they are still in his thoughts. Similarly, in pieces where we see a flock of birds, we know that Rowan has captured a moment spent enjoying the company friends and family, and has painted that recognition into his piece to cement a memory that holds such happiness for him. There is a certain privilege afforded to us that we are gifted not only with these paintings, but a glimpse into Rowan’s family album, his diary, his most precious of times. When asked if any piece holds particular meaning for him, the answer came
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