My journey into art has been life-long but two years ago I made the big step of leaving a decades long teaching career behind. I became a full time artist, in my forties.
There is a simple truth in my artwork which I describe as whimsical and quirky and accessible to all.
My travels have taken me as far as living in China for a number of years and this was when I began forging the artistic path I’m on today. I can’t help but see the potential of the next painting, or indeed series of them when I’m absorbed in a ‘new’ landscape.
I’m based in Lincolnshire, where I live with my husband and teenage daughter but I yearn for the coast, which we visit whenever the opportunity arises and this feeds into much of my work. I’ve just completed a series of paintings of Port Isaac for example.
Created in what I believe is a traditional British Naïve style, my work can appear superficially simplistic – it’s not. My pieces are a complex process of layering, filtering; heavily relying on what to leave OUT as much as what to include!
My finished pieces are idealised places rather than realistic accurate representations, intended to bring a smile and connect with our ‘Inner Child’. They have to be relatable to the place I’m painting in order for the viewer to see a recognisable depiction of that place, so they in turn can have their own dialogue with it, which is an important part of the painting’s journey.
A rebellious streak arises whenever I’m contemplating a new painting. All those years of being told to consider the disappearing lines of the horizon and to “keep things in proportion”, fly out of the nearest window so I can have a real conversation with each piece of work.
It’s how I’ve found my own unique style, my artistic voice.