I have painted since I was little, drawing cartoon characters and making posters.
When I started secondary school one of the art assignments was to paint our self-portraits and incorporate a theme from our personality. This was when I realised I could capture life through paint.
I then changed schools and gained an honorary art scholarship where I was very lucky to have access to the art studio at all times. I played around with all sorts of exciting materials. Chalk and paper where in my top 5 favourite due to the texture ad expressive marks I could build from the material.
It was when I did my GCSE exam and worked with acrylic paint that I began to realise the potential.
From then on, my ability and confidence developed, and I become more capable and experimental in all mediums of art.
The way I saw the world, compositions, colours, and light changed. I began to notice when a scene would work as a painting or would be a very strong photograph. I do think it is a way of thinking that grows the more time you spend creating and using life as your subject.
My A-level final piece was a funky and technical still life of a watermelon bowl (sounds random, I know) and I was asked if it could hang as a permanent piece in the school hall. This made me think that there are other people out there who might want my work on display. What new painting challenges could this bring? From then on, I began finding my feet with commissions.
A few years later after I had travel to different parts of the world and seen stunning wildlife that I just had to paint; did I start to build a portfolio of pieces.
Studying fine art at university pushed me into new spaces (painting 55ft trees pink!) and thought processes (painting 55ft trees pink)! All of which has shaped the work I now create, which itself is uplifting and has a strong painting style to it.
There have been many people along the way who have nurtured me to understand the inspiring characteristics of paint, and the satisfaction of patience and skill when a work is realised.
This photograph is of my process, testing out the formation of my degree work at university.
