I have wanted to be an artist from the age of six! I spent much time in my early years drawing, mainly from still life, enjoying the detail and contour of natural forms.
Later, my focus turned towards text and print, studying graphic design at Plymouth Art College. The relationship between paper and ink continued to draw me in, and after completing a degree in Fine Art at Plymouth University in 2011, my practice made a natural turn towards handmade artist books.
My books act as a meeting place between poetry, text, pattern, abstraction and photography, with a collision of ideas and feelings articulating a deeper sense of creative passion. The inspiration for these can be spontaneous; arriving from a place of interest or a simple thought or feeling. The concept is always the starting point, with the process and format emerging later.
Over the years my drawing practice continued to evolve, experimenting with larger graphite and ink drawings looking towards abstraction. More recently, a love of ancient woodland and protected landscapes has influenced graphite drawings of trees and nature reserves.
An introduction to printmaking in 2015, led me to extend my practice to combine drawing techniques and expressive mark making with printmaking. Early collagraphs set landscape as a favoured theme.
In current work, the fluid more painterly styles of monoprinting allows me to experiment with layers of texture, demonstrating vistas of space and light. The flexible process of adding and removing ink on the printing plate’s surface blends the muted colours and embodies the moods and atmospheric beauty of wild open space and ancient land.
