About

Mum to a young family of three boys and two working cocker spaniels, I started my art business when I recently quit my job so that I could pursue a career that I love whilst also being able to be there for all the important parts of the day that my family needs me.

I have been painting for as long as I can remember, a hobby I enjoyed due to my nanny showing me how to use her watercolour paints at a young age. As a keen hobby artist, she showed me how she created her paintings and encouraged me to do the same. Throughout school, art class was always my favourite class to attend and as we got to A level I enjoyed the new challenges and the volume of work that I had to create.

I went on to study Zoology at the University of Nottingham as a 'more sensible option than art' and enjoyed studying all of the different aspects of animals, ecosystems, conservation and the challenges the world faces at the moment. As an animal lover and having done well in the sciences at school, this was the only course I could see myself studying apart from art.

Once I had my degree I moved back home to Kent and faced the problem we all face of what I wanted to do. I went between various jobs for five years before coming back to the beginning and deciding that if I really wanted to do a job I loved and spend more time with my family it had to be art!

So here I am now, starting my career as an artist and trying to put myself out there in the world! I have finally given myself some more time to dedicate to my art and am loving every step of the way.

A year or two ago I got a quote tattooed on my arm (I believe its from Alice in wonderland, but don't quote me on it!) : "every adventure requires a first step." I think I got it at a time in my life where I knew that things needed to change. Quitting my job to give myself more time to dedicate to art was the first step, now the adventure begins!

About my artwork

My love of animals and family is what inspires what I create, having painted mostly animals along with a few family members in recent years. I think the thing that I love bringing to the canvas is a glimpse of their character and the shine in their eyes that hints at the thoughts and soul underneath.

With my animal portraits, I enjoy exploring the textures of the fur or the wrinkles in the skin and the challenge of making a realistic depiction of it. When I am painting an animal from an image, I create a whole story behind the animal and try to imagine what their life has been like to get where they are now. I find it fascinating to think about how they think, if they have similar thoughts to us and what sort of character they are. Any pet owner knows that each animal has its own character and quirks and I try to let this shine through in my paintings of both pets and wildlife.

My zoology degree increased my interest in conservation and how different species interact so I will be exploring that more in my future works. My current focus is on close up portraits that show how stunning and unusual each animal is on their own, and how the struggles they face due to various human activities may shine through in their faces. I think this is the side where during my process I imagine what their life has been like. Viewers of my artwork might not all the see same story. As it's all imagined anyway, I think that's the beauty of it and if I make people think about the struggles or lives of other animals more deeply, then I will be happy with that. 

It's very hard to turn a blind eye to the suffering of animals when you stop and think about the fact that they aren't abstract creatures in another country - they are lives that have walked their own paths with thoughts and feelings of their own. I like to take a pause quite often and remember this about other animals and people - it's something we all know but I find it quite humbling to really truly think about it deeply. That may just be me but it certainly makes me feel connected to my paintings as each one has a life of its own.