Art and Painting has always been a big part of my life. I learned a great deal about the passion of painting from my late father, John. My dad was the local barber. He painted local scenes in watercolour and ink around our village on the outskirts of Bradford. I shared his fascination with local artists and their work which included David Hockney (whose hair he cut!), Ashley Jackson and many more.

I went on to study A level art at school and travelled across Bradford on my wee moped to attend life drawing classes run by Bradford College. I turned down the offer of a place to do a Foundation Course at Bradford University for two reasons. Firstly because I thought I would never be able to make a career from art, I wasn't good enough and secondly because I'd always wanted to be a nurse.

I moved to Sheffield to do my nurse training with the promise to myself that I would always have art as my hobby.

I've been painting ever since and had a varied career and brought up two fabulous children alongside. Art continued to take back seat but was always there in the background.

I am now 60 and decided it is time to make art my full time occupation! It's taken a while but........

My husband and I moved to Leyburn in 1993 to renovate a derelict Squash Club which we then ran for 11years. The scenery was a huge influence in our move as I've always loved being outdoors and will walk for hours to be part of it.

The Dales are a constant source of inspiration. I am constantly in awe of this fantastic, powerful landscape. I am always striving to capture just some of its majesty and beauty, never satisfied that I have done the subject justice, which is my drive to keep painting. One day I will capture that perfect moment in time that I felt whilst out walking. I love to submerge my self in the landscape and will often do that , literally, sitting in a field full of wildflowers with the hum of insects all around, swimming in the river, climbing to the top of a hill....... what a privilege to be able to do that just outside our front door!

My other fascination is people and their life stories. I attend a local portrait group and really enjoy listening to their stories whilst trying to capture some of their spirit in the painting.

I feel my style is constantly shifting and varies depending upon the subject. One of the beauties of painting in watercolour is it's spontaneity. I'm quite an impatient person and am often desperate to get an idea down on paper. This sometimes results in some very dynamic work, which is great but more often will end up in the recycling bin! Watercolour is magic! It has its own ideas and I'm learning that control is not always what's needed. To let the paint do its own thing and tweak the results is sometimes far more rewarding.

I mainly work at home on the kitchen table but also attend local art group every week and a portrait group too. I find a lot of inspiration working alongside fellow artists.

Further inspiration has come from other artists who have taught me along the way,
Winnifred Hodge
Ian Scott Massie
Ed Hullah
and all my friends at art group and, of course, my lovely dad.

Life is full and I am one lucky lady to have all this in my life.