Having grown up on a farm in Suffolk, my happy place has always been in the heart of nature where I feel the most inspired. I began my professional career in 2010 as a pastel artist drawing portraits of dogs on commission, specialising in hounds and Whippets. In 2020, I learned to master oils at the Norfolk Painting School and to paint expressively and from the heart. Flowers are still my main subject matter, either painted plein air or in the studio. As well as the different emotions each flower evokes, I love the compositional opportunities that this genre presents together with the endlessly intriguing correlations of colour, shape and pattern. Recent exhibitions have included: Inspired by Benton End (Hadleigh Old School) and Heart of Suffolk, Thorpe Morieux, where I exhibit annually. My work has also been shown at the Leaping Hare, Wyken Vineyards, The Colchester Arts Society, The Ipswich Art Society and The Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings and in 2021 I was awarded Highly Commended by the Institute of East Anglian Art, Holt Gallery, for my painting of a blue and white Whippet. At my Hadleigh studio, The Oil Lamp, I offer one-to-one and small group still-life workshops and still, occasionally, paint dogs to commission.
