Born 1977

As a child, I loved to draw and paint, and I was lucky to have parents that encouraged me.  I grew up near to the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, and as a family we spent a lot of time going for walks there, I think this greatly inspired my love of nature, the outdoors, and light.
 I studied A level art, and sold my first painting aged 18. 
However, I also had a passion for dance, and decided to attend the Rambert School of Ballet  and Contemporary dance, graduating from the professional dancers course.

 I continued to paint and sell my  work whilst studying, and upon graduating, felt increasingly  drawn to explore art rather than pursue a career in dance. I decided to take a foundation art course at St Martins College of Art and Design, after which I directed my own studies into the techniques of the late 19th and early 20th century realist and impressionist oil painters. I discovered that the discipline and focus I had gained from my studies in dance were skills which transferred well into learning realist oil painting techniques, and the feelings that I was once able to express through dance, I can now put into my paintings.

 Over the last couple of years, I have been increasingly drawn to flowers  as a subject, for their  graceful beauty and complexity and also memories and associations from childhood ( my mum is a very keen gardener!)

 I also love to work outdoors (en plein air), painting landscapes and flowers , where the changing light and seasons are a constant inspiration.  
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I started exhibiting In 2008, and since then have taken part in numerous group and open exhibitions including the ROI annual exhibition and the Discerning Eye.
I was awarded the Huxley purchase prize in 2010.
My work has been exhibited and collected in the UK and internationally. In 2015 I took a break from painting to care for my two young children, returning in 2018.

You can listen to a podcast were I chat with Sarah Ryan, founder of New Blood Art gallery here.​

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