Somerset: The artist combing beaches after storms

There is also a therapeutic element to Dan’s beach-combing.

Getting out into nature, thinking about the raw material of the wood and how it could feature in his artwork helped him recover after losing his father.

“I’m enjoying the walk and I’m enjoying what I’m finding, and I get an energy buzz from that and feeling connected to the materials,” he said.

Dan started cataloguing the wood he finds and sorting it for later use, so there is provenance to each piece, to make the work more meaningful to him.

He has named it Project Driftwood.

“I might find a piece then not use it for up to a year, but when I pick the piece of wood up again I remember that thought and feeling.

“That’s important”