Joff uses paper, stretched canvas, linen and cradled panels covered in thick oil paint applied with a palette knife to create his stunning paintings of the Scottish Highlands.

‘Though I began painting wildlife I had an artistic epiphany four years ago, when I decided that I needed to paint the landscape - and despite enjoying the area in which I live, my love for dramatic scenery was the natural place to begin.

Since I first hitch-hiked around Scotland for 6 weeks at the age of 16, I have enjoyed the rugged landscapes of the mountains. Family, youth hostelling and sea kayaking drew me back again and again.

I enjoy how thick oil paint and a palette knife create such a lovely range of surfaces, and these help me describe the ruggedness and texture of the mountains. In combination with aerial perspective and the use of half-mixed colours, I try to express the colours, the beauty and the scale of upland landscapes. I use a palette knife 95% of the time, and only revisit a painting towards the end with a small brush, to tidy and tinker.

I sometimes paint the surface with a thin undercoat or ‘ground’ before starting work, to help infuse the finished picture with a particular feeling. I enjoy using complementary colours (blues and oranges being my favourites), but those which are similar to each other do lend harmony to a painting and ensure a restricted tonal range. Artistic licence being what it is, I redesign images or amplify particular aspects of a scene to create as dynamic a composition as I can.'