A little about me

As an artist, I am inspired by the delight of colour and texture around me, take a look at the Gallery tab at the top. I work in mostly acrylic paints and mixed media to create layered paintings with depth and contrast. I have a background in Fashion and Textiles, graduating in 1986 from University of Ulster with a Postgraduate Diploma in Fashion Design.

I paint abstract art, usually with a textural element, painting with loose brush or palette knife strokes and mark making, layering up paints and blending colours.

I enjoy painting florals and landscapes but some days my work has a strong emphasis on pattern and colour, where my love for fashion and textiles still plays a big part in who I am today.

I take an imaginative and intuitive approach to express my thoughts and feelings through my abstract paintings and I enjoy the creative freedom my art brings me. Lately I have enjoyed a particular interest in weathered, rusted and sun beaten surfaces from a holiday on the island of Gozo. I would often be found photographing peeling paintwork, old walls, groups of pebbles, floral gardens, water, architecture, textiles; the list goes on. Often folk are watching on as I'm in raptures taking multiple photos and they are wondering why on earth I am taking photos of an old crumbling wall, especially as there is is a nice painted one just up the road!

I live in Nottingham and have been here since the 1980s, but was born in Northern Ireland. I left there in my mid 20s to seek adventure and a career in the Fashion and Knitwear industry, designing knitwear for Marks and Spencer and other major chain stores. I suppose I inherited my interest in colour and painting from my father who is a well-known oil and watercolour artist residing in my home town of Magherafelt, however I chose not to do a Fine Art degree like him, but to follow my interest in Fashion Design.

I’ve always had a keen interest in aesthetics, design, colour and textures which has led to an organic transition into painting.

My love for knitwear and fashion has always stayed with me and this has given me strength to develop my artistic abilities today.