Artist's Statement:
The main focus of my work is landscape and nature. The impact of humankind on the natural world and wildlife is a real concern, with escalating consequences on habitats and systems that we have taken for granted. I especially enjoy the solace of quieter locations - moorland, forests, rivers and shorelines. My eye is often drawn to patterns in the landscape, rough textures of vegetation, light through a tangle of branches, movement of water around a rock. Through my work I try to express my feeling of connection with nature.
Biography:
My childhood was spent in Norway, with winter forests and bright summers at my mother’s fjord-side cabin fostering an enduring affinity with landscape and nature. My father was a soldier and I have happy memories of poring over maps together, long walks off the beaten track and the importance of a thermos of hot tea. After graduating with a degree in medieval archaeology I spent a year painting and drawing in Italy, before returning to London and eventually settling in Bath. Alongside my later career as a counsellor I continued exploring my creativity on a largely self-taught basis, before making the decision in 2018 to focus more on my artwork. The process of reconnecting and rediscovering continues to be a real joy.
Working Methods:
Drawing underpins my work, as an expressive form in its own right, or as a starting-point to explore other media - oils, acrylics, printmaking. Location photos, sketches and notes are used to reconnect with the experience back in the studio, often through a small study that will inform a larger piece. The scale of the subject matter - whether open landscapes or more intimate close-ups - directs the choice of medium and level of detail I want to include.
From the energy of gestural mark-making to more detailed work, charcoal and pastel feel responsive and rewarding to use. I usually work on mountboard - mapping out the under-drawing, layering paint washes over gesso to set an initial mood, then working into the piece with charcoal and pastel. Although I mostly start with a visual idea of the direction I want a piece to go, I try to remain open to shifting composition, emphasis and colour as the mood takes me, trying to capture an atmosphere that the viewer can connect with emotionally.
Exhibitions and Galleries:
2021 Summer Show, Lion Street Gallery, Hay-on-Wye
2021 Pastel Society Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
2020 Selected Works, Lion Street Gallery
2020 Pastel Society Annual Exhibition
2019 Pastel Society Annual Exhibition
2016 Bath Society of Artists Annual Open Exhibition
Awards:
2020 The Artist Magazine Award, Pastel Society Annual Exhibition
2019 Annie Longley Award, Pastel Society Annual Exhibition
2019 Unison Pastels Non-Member Award, Pastel Society Annual Exhibition
Education and Training:
BA (Hons) Medieval Archaeology, University College London
FdSc Addictions Counselling, University of Bath
SACI College of Art & Design, Florence
Life Drawing classes - London, Bath Artists Studios
Printmaking workshops - Bath Artist Printmakers
Pastel workshop - Sarah Bee
Society Membership:
Elected as a member of The Pastel Society UK 2021
Publications:
The Artist Magazine – article scheduled for Dec 2021
Paintings & Prints in Private Collections:
UK, Norway, Russia, USA
