Michael Rainsford work has always derived from the places where he has lived, Cornwall, the Yorkshire moors and for the last 25 years in the West of Ireland.  Walking, looking, drawing and being in the landscape is important to him as an artist.  Sometimes while walking a particular stone or perhaps a white patch of lichen calls for attention.  The earth that the stone sits on provides the material for making marks on the stone – dots and/or dashes(pulled dots).  For Rainsford this is a way of working in which the intimacy of touch is emphasised and seals the connection with place.  The marked stones focus attention and by so doing can enable the surrounding place to emerge.  The marks become the language of place.  Works such as this made outside are left in situ ( to eventually wash away in the rain ) and become a source and preparation for studio works that aim to carry through that connection, bringing the outside in, as a remembering of the experience of place and an interweaving of the outside with the inside.  The process of marking the stone or the painting’s surface is an exploration of place, light and colour.  The paintings are done on handmade paper with paints made from the local earth pigments.   The texture of the paper and its torn edges gives presence and physicality to the painting.  In the stillness of working each repetitive mark and brushstroke takes time to read and provides the focus for noticing as do the earth marks in the actual place itself.  Giving attention to and engaging with the place slowly over time is to forge a bond that can be both recipricol and life enhancing. Making a space both for listening and for the place to have its voice.