Lemon Pergola, Casa Angelina, Amalfi Coast, Italy Painting

I’ve been drawing, painting and being creative for as long as I can remember. As a child I loved to draw, paint, make dolls houses, create books and magazines, design clothes and produce pencil drawings of the latest pop stars for my school friends. After school I completed an Art Foundation Diploma and then studied for a degree in Graphic Design at De Montfort University. I then worked in Graphic Design, Merchandising, Illustration, and Magazine Design for next 14 years, while painting, drawing and producing commissions in my spare time. I didn’t consider painting professionally until an inspiring visit to New York in late 2005. The following year I started to paint in a more expressive, smudgy style that suggested movement, and in 2007, after a chance encounter with an old neighbour, I had my first exhibition in a commercial gallery. I paint in my converted garage, called ‘the garden room’, when the light is good, as I only paint using natural light. I produce oil painting commissions of landscapes, cityscapes and seascapes, often incorporating some portraiture. I also work on my own painting collections, developing themes of colour or location. My other hobbies and interests include fashion design and sewing (my grandmother was a pattern designer), garden design, interior design, and travel, where I collect much of my painting inspiration.