My artworks evoke shifting light, movement and emotion, exploring deep inner psychological and spiritual themes such as hope, home, freedom, peace, self-acceptance and simplicity.  

​

I take inspiration from the ever-changing skies – often snapping a photo on my phone when I see a beautiful atmospheric sky that moves me. I also look within, allowing my emotions and reflections on life to well up and determine what topics I want to explore in my paintings. This is a practice of deep intuitive listening to both internal and external prompts. Then all of a sudden, I get this internal nudge that this is the painting I need to paint next – and I know both what the visual subject of the painting will be, and what its deeper meaning is. I experience this moment almost like a compulsion, as if this is what I HAVE to create next.

​

My process is simple but intentional: I outline a sketch in pen, add washes of watercolour paint, and finish with flowing, organic linework using a quill and quill ink. The finishing details come with ‘messying’ the artwork – using watercolour splatters, metallic paints, and ink splodges to convey a sense of movement, emotion and natural energy.

​

I don’t plan my paintings in advance, instead allowing intuition and instinct to take over. At times, it feels like an exploration, as if the illustration is creating itself, and I am just a vessel along for the journey, getting to watch the creation unfold in front of me. 

​

My favourite part of the painting process is that final textural element of adding quill ink and metallic paint splatters – there is a spontaneous, joyful abandon in the wildness and unpredictability of the physical process as I cannot control exactly where the paint/ink will fall. It creates the “mood” of the painting, animating it with the sense of wind, movement and emotion.

​

I particularly enjoy the contrast between soft, translucent, dreamy quality of the paints against the powerful, opaque ink strokes and splatters. It creates a poetic, whimsical quality that juxtaposes with a sense of immediacy and confident mark making.

​

I make artworks to help myself and others self-reflect, explore their inner worlds and find strength in who they are. When someone stands in front of my paintings, I want them to feel a sense of lightness and being able to breathe more deeply, as well as an invitation to look within and love/know themselves, including their shadow side. I often explore topics such as home, peace, freedom and simplicity in my work, inspired by Quaker principles. Above all, my artwork tries to answer the question: ‘what message is rising up within right now and how can I best share that reflection with others in a way that brings them wonder and strength and hope?’