About
I am lucky enough to have made my home right where the ocean meets the land on the rugged North Devon coast.
Access to the natural world is very important to me and having a connection to nature gives me the freedom to experiment with creating all kinds of art.
I love to get out on the coastal paths and always have my sketch bag with me. I like to sit for maybe an hour and have a good look and try to capture something in my sketch book.
Sometimes just scribbles, a word or two about what I can hear or the wind on my face and a basic rendering of the shapes I can see.
The sketches are not particularly detailed or even accurate, I'm trying to remember the experience rather than trying to recreate a photographic image. It's amazing how these few notes can transport you back to that spot when you get back to the studio.
My local stretch of coastline has miles of beach with wide skies reflected in the wet sand, rocky headlands with tidal pools and stony coves as well as deep wooded valleys filled with bluebells, wild garlic and cold sparkling streams winding their way to the sea.
I find inspiration everywhere and although painting is a constant for me I also love to create lino prints, odd little ceramic collections, take photos from the ocean and try out new creative techniques wherever possible.
My paintings are predominantly in acrylics on canvas or wood panel, sometimes using metal leaf or palette knife to create depth and texture.
I grew up and studied on the edge of the New Forest...
Spending all my time drawing and painting, crafting and creating. I gained a merited diploma at college moving on to sell locally in independent galleries and businesses.
I have studied under resident artists at the St Ives School of Painting and the Newlyn School of Art and regularly take part in artist workshops.
It wasn't until 2015 that I was in a position to take my artwork full time opening a gallery shop with my own work and that of other makers in my local area.
Over the years, as my back catalogue has grown and my designs have developed into all kinds of products, the shop is now a showcase for my own work with a few carefully curated extras to enhance the collections.