About ME

It took me a while to find my 'niche' in the art world.  I tried oils and acrylics at first, aiming to paint landscapes (seeing as I live in the beautiful Lake District, it seemed obvious!) and being thoroughly dejected when they didn't come out like I hoped.  I then tried small illustrations featuring Mousey and Froggy using watercolour and pen.  Whilst these were fun to create and many people loved them and bought the prints and cards I had made, they didn't spark a 'passion' and I didn't want to be an artist that just churned out work for the sake of it.

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I tried being 'looser' and more abstract - that definitely didn't work out at all!  Fine details and slow methodical working is more my style.

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Then I painted an anemone cut from my garden, matching the colours, getting the scale right, showcasing the tiny details that make up the petals and stamens and the patterns on the leaves.  

I'd found it, my 'passion'.  

 

So I sold off all my oils and acrylics and various other supplies I had collected, invested in more watercolours; mainly from Wallace and Seymour and Daniel Smith; and then my first full set of coloured pencils, the Faber Castell Polychromos.  From the moment I started using the coloured pencils, I was hooked - the degree of accuracy, the smooth blending, the no-drying time required!  I am now a proud owner of a full set of Prismacolor Premiers and most recently the Caran d-Ache Luminance range - a collection of over 420 coloured pencils altogether.

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Long walks in the fells and mountains around our home, became even longer while I stopped to photograph plants, leaves, tree bark and my personal favourite, mushrooms and toadstools.  I have even started two cutting beds in the garden, the results have been questionable, it is the North after all! But my Zinnia elegans drawing came from now having about 30 of them!

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My journey into botanical art has been bolstered by my other hobby, collecting books.  I now have an impressive library of plant and flower tomes  - both historic and modern.  A quick stop in a bookshop usually means a new book or three!

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And here we are, I try to spend as many hours as I can in the studio, I am now also a member of

Green Door Artists and enjoying my art groups at Kirksanton and Cartmel.  I have enjoyed attending art shows across the county and hope to do more in the future.​

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Exhibitions

• Sunday 3rd May 2026 - Art in the Park, Ford Park, Ulverston

• Sunday 31st May 2026 - PromArt, Grange over Sands

• Sunday 26th July 2026 - PromArt, Grange over Sands 

• 1st August - 9th September - Lake Artists Society Exhibition at Grasmere Village Hall

• Saturday 29th August 2026 - Millom and Broughton Agricultural Show, Broughton in Furness

• Friday 14th - Sunday 16th 2026 - Cartmel Art Exhibition, Cartmel Village Hall

• Saturday 12th/Sunday 13th September 2026 - Kirksanton Art Show, Kirksanton

• Sunday 27th September 2026 - PromArt, Grange over Sands​​​​​​​  **Re-scheduled for 11th October due to the weather**

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