I am a Norwich-based artist producing a range of dynamic animal portraits and illustrations for all budgets. My favoured mediums are: acrylic paint, drawing pen, coloured pencil and inks. That said, I very much enjoy quirkier commissions and have painted on metal, glass, wood and faces! An idea is my starting point, and then I chose the medium best suited to achieving it.

 

While I mostly create bespoke work, I also like to showcase my independent paintings and drawings regularly and sell prints. Currently, my focus is on British garden birds and my "Feathered Friends" series has really taken flight! Animals are such a delightful subject matter that I could never tire of sketching them. 

 

I grew up in rural Devon and was a reclusive child. If I could not retreat into the woods or down by the river I would disappear into literature and music. In nature I always felt like a part of it rather than just a spectator. I had many diverse interests but was always drawing. Locally, my mother and I helped create posters, signs, greetings cards and even stage scenery (without computers, of course!). I always loved combining words and pictures.

 

 My artwork was first published in my teens; at that time I loved sketching jazz musicians live and developed a quick and bold drawing style as a result. Spontaneous sales of my sketches at gigs got me known in the local jazz circle and soon led to me having my illustrations published in issues of a local event listing. I also drew upon these sketches to create a colourful painting series as part of my Art and Design A level. The encouraging response to my "Jazz pics" cemented my resolve to become an artist.

 

The Sainsbury Centre gallery was what brought me up to Norwich from Devon. I fell in love with its exquisite world art collection. Studying other cultures and reading anthropological texts really spoke to my wild roots and has added new depth to my own artwork.  

I have bipolar disorder and with that come hyper-productive phases. Often I stumble upon something of artistic merit when I am just playing around and enjoying myself, be that with paint, words or music. Creativity permeates all areas of my life and I am never short of ideas. The more feedback I get the more I learn which to develop upon. A decade living in this city has blessed me with so much growth, both professionally and socially.

 

One ambition of mine is to be involved, in a creative capacity, in youth work of some kind. The great advantage of now being in Norwich Art Studios is that I have a physical location at the heart of the city that, as well as being a place to paint, acts as a launch-pad for conversations and collaborations. I relish the creative process so much more if I know that someone else will enjoy the result!