Born in Lancashire, England I now live in Worcestershire with my husband and our labrador retriever. I trained at Rochdale College of Art and the Faculty of Art and Design at Wolverhampton in the 1970s.

I have wanted to paint and draw for as long as I can remember and was always encouraged as a child, coming from an extended family who were art lovers, painters, illustrators and woodcarvers in their free time. For me the experience of painting is one where I express simultaneously both what I see and what I feel.

Whilst having an interest in most art genres and design in general, painting is my preferred art form, both creating my own pictures and looking at those of other artists. Once completed, a painting has a stillness that allows one to view it time and time again, knowing that any differences you see will come from within you the viewer.

I love and admire the work of Gustav Klimt, Amedeo Modigliani, Giorgia O’Keeffe (who was ’discovered’ in 1915 after she produced a series of abstract charcoal drawings which were exceptionally progressive for their time), the contemporary artists Victoria Russell, mostly for her stunning portrait of the actress Fiona Shaw (National Portrait Gallery), Alison Watt (Associate artist at the National Gallery 2006-2008) and Anita Klein.

I specialise in painting vibrant, richly coloured canvases portraying the dramatic impact of form, colour, texture and scale in nature. The ‘Flower’ series of paintings features close-range images on dark backgrounds which capture the energy and strength of the subject. I photograph the flower and paint from that reference, thus capturing a single moment. The backgrounds are more a void than a setting for the image. All the energy and power come from within the subject itself, almost as if it is self-illuminating and that no matter where the image is placed the same light and energy would radiate.

The subject matter of my architectural paintings includes Witley Court in Worcestershire and Houghton House in Bedfordshire. These paintings feature the powerful contrast of a dark backdrop with the lighter, more distant image viewed through archways and windows, which almost becomes a painting within a painting.

All paintings are acrylic on canvas.

My work has been exhibited at

Artifex, The Mitchell Centre, Sutton Coldfield
www.artifex.co.uk

Birties of Worcester, Friar Street, Worcester
www.birtiesofworcester.com

Broadway Modern, Broadway, Worcestershire
www.john-noott.com

Martin's Gallery, Cheltenham
www.martinsgallery.co.uk

The Gallery at Bevere, Worcester
www.beverevivis.com

The Purple Gallery, Bournville, Birmingham
www.purplegallery.com

The Rivers Gallery, Nailsworth
www.riversgallery.com

My paintings have also been selected for the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Prize Exhibition and Christmas All Media Exhibitions.
www.rbsa.org.uk