I’m an abstract painter creating heartfelt, many layered abstract paintings from my studio in Warwickshire.
My abstract paintings are an exploration of the places I’ve been, the connections I’ve made and the traces left behind.
As we travel through the world we change things slightly, we leave marks behind, and in return, life leaves marks on us, on our bodies and our hearts.
The interplay of colours, shapes and lines reflect people, feelings, moments and memories. I hope my paintings invite the viewer to reflect on their own travels and experiences, inspiring them to appreciate the connections they’ve made and the traces they’ve left behind in their own lives.
I often use symbols, or other recognisable elements to reflect my experiences, such as a vase, or boat shape: a flower; a star constellation, fragments of maps, or words just glimpsed. Although these elements appear in an abstract context, they retain echoes of meaning which tell a story to the viewer.
I use a range of materials: paint, pencil, pastels and collage, building up paintings layer by layer in an organic way. Through my process of adding and subtracting, burying some elements and bringing others to the fore, a rich history is created, which I hope has an emotional connection with the viewer. I continue working until I feel harmony and balance has been achieved and the image has been “found”.
I’ve loved art and painting from a young age. However, after a detour which involved obtaining a BA Hons degree in German from Manchester University, I returned to my true passion of painting, when I enrolled as a mature student of Fine Art at Birmingham City University. After leaving art college I had nearly a decade of success, selling my work through galleries around the UK, taking part in numerous solo and joint exhibitions. During this period I sold more than 100 paintings through the galleries that represented me.
Subsequently, my path took another detour, into the office environment, and I worked for several years in Communications at the Civil Service handling the media for VIP visits, including Royalty and Government Ministers. It was a very different career from painting, but so much of what I learned, around communication and creating connections, feeds into my art today.
For the last few years, I’m so happy to be in a position to fully focus on my painting again being selected for the Saatchi Other Art Fair, and showing through several galleries. See Exhibitions and Events page for details of current shows and galleries.
