top of page
Dec21studio.jpg

This is me

​
 

  • I am an artist…so proud to be able to call myself this.

  • I am a partner to the gorgeous Brooke, so grateful.

  • I am a mother to 3 wonderful adults and step mum to 1 great kid.

  • I have lived in Melbourne, Australia, for the last 14 years, but grew up in London, UK.

  • I adore the theatre, particularly musicals.

  • I love going to see live music and have been to nearly 50 amazing concerts over the years…Bon Jovi at 19 is still my favourite.

  • I have been alive for 53 years so far.

  • I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers. 

  • Both my parents are from Dublin, Ireland, though I was born and always lived in London.

  • All my family live in the UK and I miss them all the time.

  • I have always loved creating, but didn’t study art until my 30s, when my kids were all at school.

  • I couldn’t decide which creative profession I wanted to go into, because I wanted to do them all....Costume Design, Theatre Design, Graphic Design, Textile Design, Typography.  I chose Fine Art because it was the only one offered part-time and I could fit it around my kids.

  • I have been painting for 14 years.

  • My haven is my studio in my garden and I paint most days.

  • I enjoy painting abstractly as a kind of meditation.

  • I love painting big paintings the best, because you can put your whole body into it.

  • I used to paint figuratively, but changed to get out of my head.

  • My work explores light, home & belonging.

  • I am inspired by creative people from all fields, particularly music and design.

  • I paint in layers as a reflection of us humans - none of us are just what is shown on the surface…we are all accumulations of life experiences…good and not so good.

  • I believe there is beauty in our imperfections.

  • I am a recovering perfectionist and a recovered people pleaser (nearly) haha x

Exhibitions & Awards

IMG_8406.jpg

Artist Statement 2023

 

My work for the last few years has focused on the combination of pattern and botanical shapes.  I was mystified for some time as to why this particular combination, as my work is rarely preplanned, but I have deduced that my love of textiles and interior design have long since been the inspiration behind these choices.   I am particularly drawn to the juxtaposition between the orderly/formal shapes found in pattern alongside the untamed abstract representations of nature. This combination speaks to me of our internal conflict and our attempt to control and structure our lives, whilst also recognising the inevitable surrender we face and the breaking through of our true nature.

 

My colour palette does vary, but is usually consistent within a series of work. I always paint the colours that make my heart sing and find they often nod to nostalgia or reminiscence to seemingly simpler times .

 

The paintings evolve in layers and to me don’t feel they become their true selves until there is depth and history within multiple layers.  The interest comes in the detail and how the layers react to each other and work together.

 

To me, this time in existence feels like a time of great change. We have been living with duality for many centuries….chaos & calm, light & dark, structure & wilderness, the head & the heart, the masculine & the feminine, to name but a few.  All of these are represented in my paintings and it is my hope to evoke an appreciation for how these elements harmonise, rather than fight against each other. I feel that perhaps it is time in the world to embrace the beauty in each of these differences and visualise how when we can work together for a better world for us all x

bottom of page