About
I am an abstract artist and portrait painter living and working in the Mendip Hills, Somerset.
My portraiture and abstract works explore ideas and themes surrounding identity, containment and belonging .
I paint mostly self portraits using oils, either onto paper or wooden board. Identity and self-portraiture are deeply intertwined concepts that traverse the realms of art, psychology, philosophy, and culture. From prehistoric handprints on cave walls to the digital avatars of today, the impulse to represent oneself is both universal and endlessly variable. At its core, self-portraiture is not simply about likeness, but rather about the search for and articulation of identity, how we see ourselves and how we wish to be seen by others.
My abstract works are another form of self, a way of seeing and exploring my identity and what it means to be human. Identity is a landscape, a terrain of the self that is constantly evolving, shaped by experiences, interactions, and the realities of a changing world. In this series of abstract works, I am constantly exploring the concept of shifting identities, likening it to a landscape, a metaphor that captures the fluidity, complexity, and multidimensionality of the human experience. I work in mixed media; oil paints, oil pastels, paper mache, foil, tape and household paint and acrylic paint.
Education:
2023 - 2024: PGC: Therapeutic Arts: USW (University of South Wales)
2018 - 2019: MA Curating: UWE (University of the West of England)
1998 - 2001: BA (hons) Costume for the Stage and ScreenThe Arts Institute at Bournemouth:
1997 - 1998: BETEC Diploma, Foundation Course: Art and design: Warwickshire College, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
My portrait paintings have been exhibited in the following shows:
Upcoming:
2025: Contestant on Portrait Artist of the Year, Sky Arts, Story Vault Productions (airs on Sky Arts and Now TV November / Dec 2025)
2025: Wells Art Contemporary, community project. I collaborated with musician Jack Bessant (Reef band) painting his portrait on a skate deck to be auctioned off this October to raise money for a new skate park in Wells. The decks (designed by other local artists) will be curated and displayed during the Wells Art Contemporary exhibition in wells Cathedral this October.
Previous exhibitions and collaborations:
2023: Wells Art Contemporary, Wells Cathedral, Wells, Somerset.
2022: Bricks Bristol (Bristol), Studio Kind (Devon) and Somerset House (London): ‘ON SKIN’.
I have been working collaboratively with artist Yuko Edwards exploring healing and the body since September 2021. (This is an ongoing project). Together we created a quilt which was exhibited at St Annes House in Bristol (Bricks Bristol) in January 2022. The exhibition also traveled to Studio Kind in Devon in November 2022. The quilt went on to Somerset House in London in the same year to be included in an exhibition titled: Eternally Yours: An exhibition about Care, Repair and Healing: which ran from June – September 2022
2021: Figurative Art Now, The Society of British Artists annual exhibition, Mall Galleries, London.
2021: Wells Art Contemporary, Wells Cathedral, Somerset.
2021: The Holy Bush Painting Prize (Now called The Women in Art Prize), Runner up prize awarded.
2020: Portraits for NHS Heroes: I painted a friend who is also an NHS nurse during covid, and it was selected to go inside the book Portraits for NHS Heroes, which was initiated by the artist Tom Croft, with a forward by Michael Rosen.
2019: Wells Art Contemporary, Wells, Somerset.
2019: The Royal West of England Academy annual exhibition, Bristol.
2016: Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition. Mall Galleries, London.
2016: The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Portrait Prize (RBSA) Birmingham.
2014: Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition.
2013: Society of Women Artists annual exhibition, mall Galleries, London
2013: The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Portrait Prize (RBSA), Birmingham.
2013: My work made it to the second round of judging of the then BP Portrait award.