I have enjoyed the tutoring of many talented artists and teachers, both in Canada where I lived for many years, and ‘back home’ in the South Hams. All my tutors encouraged me to develop my own interests and style. I am drawn to explore the exquisite detail found in nature; and am fascinated by the abstract quality of so-called ‘real’ things: the delicate tracery of a skeleton leaf, the grain of weathered wood, the patina of a much-used mooring ring (with endless tales to tell if it could but speak). I am interested in narrative and history, so I choose subjects that have a story to tell: overlooked, seemingly insignificant everyday objects; forgotten and neglected objects; abandoned dwellings and machinery that once played a role in someone’s life …. so I paint rust- and seaweed-encrusted moorings, old doors, locks …

I also paint botanical subjects and, in 2018, took part in a group exhibition of botanical artists who are members of the SWSBA (the South West Society of Botanical Artists). We exhibited at the annual botanical art exhibition of the RHS in London. Our exhibit was called “The Lost Words” and featured native British plants the names of which were to be dropped from the Oxford Junior Dictionary to make room for ‘tech terms’! Our exhibit of 20 paintings won a Silver Award at the exhibition, I am happy to say. Members of SWSBA are planning a second group exhibition at the RHS in 2021, Wild Flowers of the West-Country.

Watercolour is my favourite painting medium. I love the translucence of watercolour, the challenges and the ‘surprises’ but am also experimenting with other media.