As a child all I ever wanted was art materials. I would spend hours drawing, colouring, painting sticking and pasting. Although I was born in the North East of England my Father was stationed abroad, so my childhood was spent mainly in Rhodesia and Kenya. I was eleven when I joined an adult art group and painted with them on Saturday mornings using mainly thick water based paint, big brushes and painting African themes. My first exhibition was with the East African Wildlife Society at the age of 12. I was hooked! I seemed to continuously think about art, what I wanted to paint next, how I would go about it and what I would experiment with. I didn’t realise that other people did not have this same passion in life, I discovered this much later. My teenage years were shared between school in Harrogate and home in Kenya. My family then returned to England and I attended art college in Newcastle, training as a surface designer and working in Holland for several years, creating and selling designs throughout Europe, Japan and America. Moving to The Sultanate of Oman for almost two years, it was here that I set up a painting group and began to realise how much I enjoyed sharing my passion for painting with others. Moving to Belgium I then attended the Flemish academy of Fine Art in Leuven, studying full time drawing and watercolour for 3 years, successfully graduating and being awarded the 'best achievement' prize in 1990. On returning to England I then developed my painting skills, qualified as an art tutor and began teaching adults. I now paint, run courses, and workshops, and give talks and demonstrations to various groups around the country as well as demonstrating at Art Shows and writing articles and features for national magazines. I have also produced watercolour and colouring pencil DVDs, and have written a book published by Harper Collins entitled 30 minute Watercolours. What inspires me.
I have a preoccupation about painting, and creating works from various images I have experienced. I can be sitting drinking coffee in a café and watch how sunlight falls on the figures at a nearby table, or it could simply be a glimpse down a pathway to a view beyond. I particularly love the coast, the changing moods of the sea and the light on the water. I enjoy watching boats in the harbour, or painting them in a boat yard ‘out of water’ and amongst lots of junk! I can be inspired by simple every day things, jugs on a shelf, the reflections in a chrome kettle, shoes left on the floor. Put me anywhere and I’ll see a possible painting. People also inspire me to want to share my painting skills. I get such a thrill out of watching people succeed and always enjoy the challenge of developing new ways of portraying a subject and encouraging others to become hooked too! I am indeed fortunate to be able to spend my time doing so.
