Starting to paint later in life has been both a struggle and a joy. Finding a style of my own and feeling confident with it is an ongoing process. I like to use colour and light in my paintings, in order to capture the spirit of the landscape around me. Using mainly oils and acrylics I aim for loose brush strokes and palette knife marks (my favourite tool is an old credit card) to blend and scrape. I tend to do a lot of putting on, and taking off before I know that a painting is going to work. If I can, I want to express emotion and give shape to things that are not necessarily always seen. And, yes, I do use a great deal of artistic license.
My love of Cornwall began when I lived and worked in St. Ives. I try to return every year to the St. Ives Painting School for continuing inspiration and have discovered that the impressionist or abstract style works best for me.
Now that I live by the sea in Dorset, my inspiration comes from the beauty, colour and light of the coast and countryside around me.
My Paris scenes have been inspired by the romance of the impressionists who painted such wonderful Paris paintings. Montmartre is very special to me, having been proposed to on the steps of Sacre Coeur.