About

I am an Essex painter who has lived beside the Thames Estuary all of my life and take daily inspiration from this watery environment that has seeped under my skin.

I find that I am interested in littoral zones, edgelands and places where the natural environment rubs up against the remnants of a post industrial past and wherever these places are, invariably water is not far away; Water is a constant feature in my work.

As well as being a member of Leigh Art Trail, I am a member of SEVEN, A Creative Sketchbook Collective where working collaboratively, seven women artists explore artist books, altered books and all things sketchbook.

A selection of my work can be seen at Two Tree Gallery, an artist led cooperative in the heart of Leigh On Sea.

Statement

I explore ways of using paint to re-imagine the landscape. Through the manipulation of liquid pools of acrylic and oil paint, I exploit unique accidents, allowing forms to coalesce on the canvas and recreate the essence of a watery place and its quality of light, atmosphere and mood. My paintings are un-peopled but contain traces of humanity’s past and present interventions; they convey my affinity to the environment.

Much of my work explores the evocative edgelands of the Essex marshes and Thames Estuary, places that have their own beauty but not in a conventional way. This habitat is one that is re-creating itself from remnants of a post-industrial past; landfill and brownfield sites are slowly being consumed by nature, leaving only traces of a manmade history. There is stillness in these places, they are often unloved and overlooked. The subtlety of colour of the light reflected by the river lends the salt marshes and back waters a dark cinematic quality. This atmosphere and felt experience of being alone but sensing an echo of past histories, adds a subtle anxiety to my experience and my paintings.