I love to create. To draw, paint, work with my hands. I am a doer. 

I was born in London, England and ran away to art college in 1983, receiving a BFA Degree in Painting from St Martin's School of Art, London in 1987.

I was studying traditional mosaic techniques, having won a "Livewire" award from the British Government for my mosaic business, when I ran away again. This time to Phoenix, Arizona. What was this land? I was enthralled by the harsh beauty of the desert landscape. I was involved in the downtown art scene and producing large scale composite paintings of desert elements. Some large scale sculptural pieces grew out of this exploration.

Personally, I was discovering the landscape through hiking, backpacking and mountain biking and an appreciation for the uniqueness of this area was formed. With my husband I was introduced to sustainable living systems and so in 1997 we started construction of our straw bale home. Being in this realm of home building I was inspired to turn my skills towards finishing techniques and from 1995 to 2000 I had a very successful faux finishing business. I was able to indulge in some elaborate projects, including byzantine mosaic murals, large scale commissioned oils and sophisticated wall finishes. Good times.

 So once you build a home you tend to fill it. In 1998, my first son was born and I scaled back my business. Having three children meant I was chief artist in residence at their schools, hopefully passing on some of my passion.

 Since 2011 I have been developing my plein air practice. Initially, the discipline suited my time constraints. I love the immediacy of the format and over the years I have honed my skills, working both in oils and pastels. This is a constant now in my working practice - an essential element that informs all the work I do in the studio.

 In 2015, I really rediscovered life drawing and have upped my game by moving from charcoal to colored conte and pastels. It’s hard to believe I really hadn't worked with the soft pastels before then as they are very painterly and layer like oils! I also moved into my studio, producing larger pieces and returning to some old themes: playing with "abstract realism", for want of a better term, in my giant agave series.

 In 2018, I was doing a lot of portraits - I've realized I move around as desire takes me which I feel very fortunate to be able to do. After all you never know what will inspire you next!

In 2019, and ever since, I committed myself to capturing, en plein air, the beautiful palo verde blooms we have every spring here in Arizona. I work intensely for 3 to 4 weeks out in the field so that I have enough material to head to the studio once the weather turns and the heat starts. Over the years I have been increasing in size and working with different grounds.

Every summer we pack the car up and drive south for three days to Central Mexico where we escape the heat of Arizona. We have been doing this for more than 20 years and we love the people and culture there. And there, in my garden, I have another source of inspiration, the giant agave. Painting them has led to larger and larger pieces - who knows where it will end!