I have been creative in many different fields and mediums ever since my childhood in West Yorkshire, I believe art, like music and dance is an integral part of my life and I couldn't live without it. I paint with imagination and emotion; everything I see has form, line, shape, structure, colour and texture, very rarely is it realistic.

I live in Alnwick, Northumberland. The natural and industrial landscapes, nature, wildlife, the rugged coastline and everyday objects are subjects I like to paint. I am self-taught and I paint largely with acrylics, but also use watercolour, pen and ink, charcoal and pastel. In addition, I love working with oils, this medium for me pushes the boundaries making me explore different textures and styles, oils can be unforgiving and this adds to the drama of it.

In my work I always question, never accept things as a given, observing everything around me, by doing this I can keep learning, often making mistakes but that is a positive thing, it is part of my creative adventure when I paint, sometimes shapes, colour texture just happen, that is all part of the journey. 

I don’t always sketch on the canvas or paper first, I like to just see where it goes, not having a plan makes me question what is happening with the painting, it creates uncertainty and this I enjoy as it keeps my imagination open to new ideas and challenges. 

I had the privilege of exhibiting in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022. 

My painting is called “THE SEA FIGHTS BACK”. 

Alison Wilding was the curator. 

The wild coastline in Northumberland was the starting point. I wanted to show the sea looking at us, to try and show how nature is all powerful, the energy, flow and form of the waves, the movement of the water to show we cannot beat nature, it will always fight back. 

To achieve the raw emotion for this painting I had to go beyond the expected image of the sea and paint it from the seas perspective, I didn’t want it to look appealing. 

I used mixed media and acrylic on canvas. 

I also exhibited at the Northern Summer Exhibition.