My Story

My work is inspired by my two biggest passions, painting and people. It has been described as having a “calm intensity”. This depth of feeling is derived from my endeavour to make sense of the fragility of the human psyche and I strive to capture the undeniable essence of a person.

There is a strong connection between storytelling and portraiture and each of my portraits, as with every person, has a story to tell. Following the tradition of surface/textile design I create patterns and images to complement the portrait, drawing my inspiration from the shapes, colours, and patterns I find in nature.

After completing my first degree in The History of Art & Design with Fine Art, I studied at Aberystwyth University to gain a PGCE specialising in Early Years Education.
I taught in primary schools for 10+ years and loved the experience, but I always had this niggling desire to pursue a career in art. You can’t teach art every day in primary schools unfortunately!

The time spent in schools taught me a lot about the basics of experimentation and free, joyful expression through paint.

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

Pablo Picasso

While working part time after having my first child I decided to complete a second degree, this time in Visual Art & Design specialising in Illustration. I learnt an incredible amount and spent a great deal of time experimenting with different media and materials even IT (Photoshop, animation). I embraced this opportunity and in my final year I was encouraged to enter The MacMillan Children’s Book Competition. My book was Highly Commended, and my illustration displayed in their annual exhibition in London.

After gaining my BA HONS (1st Class) I illustrated for magazines/publications, and private commissions.

It was during lockdown that I began to experiment with batik and discovered its unique, and challenging qualities. Through much experimentation I have developed my own contemporary way of working using wax on cotton fabric with procion dyes.

My batik painting Girl in a Red Coat was displayed in the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition in Nov 2022 and my most recent painting Juniper has been accepted for display in The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2023.

Recent Work

Juniper

Sophia

Freda

Recent Work

Juniper

Sophia

Freda

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