I have always been interested in art, but after completing a degree in economics and politics, I spent 10 years in broadcasting – working for the BBC as well as various ITV companies. After a career break and then with a young family, I set up an interior design practice, having retrained at the KLC School of Interior Design in Chelsea Harbour.

Over the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to work with some wonderful clients on residential projects in London, the Home Counties and various locations across Europe. One of my specialities is lighting and I am sometimes engaged solely as the lighting designer for projects.

Tuscany or Scotland
Learning to paint properly, however, has always been a yearning and thanks to a fun evening with a god-daughter where we set each other goals – mine was to find an art course in Tuscany or Scotland - I finally gave it a go.

Tuscany won, and I spent a week at an ‘Easel and Lens’ Art retreat near the beautiful hilltop town of Chiusi, run by the very talented Julian Hyzler. This gave me my first taste and foundation in painting with oils.

Painting during the pandemic
I returned home enthused but with a full schedule of work commitments. It was only the following year, during the pandemic, that I found the time to get out some paints again. Once restrictions eased, I studied at the Florence Academy of Art as well as an ‘en plein air’ week in Cornwall run by Jenny Aitken.

I plucked up the courage to submit an oil painting to the Art for Youth charity exhibition at the Mall Galleries and was lucky to have it accepted and sold on the opening night! That same year, a client commissioned me to paint a landscape of the Port Quin headland and bay in Cornwall as a surprise birthday present for her husband. It was a wonderful leap of faith from her, and to be honest, rather terrifying!

Water and Light
Water and light have always appealed to me and many of my paintings are inspired by these elements. I realise that my 20 years as an interior designer have given me a trained eye for colour, composition, texture, tone, perspective and lighting. Discovering oil painting has been an absolute joy – I am delighted to be on this journey and eager to continue learning and developing. I am also taking Italian lessons with the aim of returning to my Art studies in Florence one day.

I feel very lucky to have been exhibiting both locally and at the Mall Galleries for the past few years as well as taking on private commissions.

There are so many wonderful artists who inspire me – some of my favourites include Mark Boedges, Jack Morrocco, Jonathan Yeo and Ruth Fitton. But inspiration comes from all around, whether simply walking my dog, rowing on the river or travelling further afield - I try to capture the essence of a moment in my paintings.