What brought you to Cookham – does it inspire your art?

We really loved this area with its open spaces, woods, river, parklands
and excellent pubs and restaurants. It is a cliche but I look around this beautiful part of the country we live in and find inspiration for my art everywhere – in the colours of flowers, the sunlight shining down through the trees in the woods, the changing colours of the leaves through the seasons, the sky, the light sparkling on the river and amazing sunsets.

   I also spend a lot of time in the mountains and by the sea, and the colours of the sky when away from cities are breathtaking. I try to capture these colours as well as how seeing them made me feel,
so emotions really do go into each painting I create. It is sometimes very hard to let some of them go for that reason!

 

Have you always been an artist?

I loved art at school and was always drawing as a child. I remember being desperate to have my paintings on Tony Hart's Gallery on TV!
I was steered towards more academic subjects for my GCSEs and A Levels, so left art behind for a while, before rediscovering it a bit later
in life as a hobby alongside my more technical career. I trained as an electrical engineer at university and gained my chartership whilst working for the BBC as a project manager and spent my career managing technical design and build projects including building
some news studios in New York. It is only now that I am on a career break whilst being a mummy that I am beginning to develop it as a more serious career idea.

   I am self-trained. I had an operation on my foot in 2001 and was off my feet for four weeks. My dad bought me a watercolour book and paints and the rest is history! Without any rules to follow or being told what not to do or what to avoid, I am constantly experimenting and trying new things to see what looks good or what works. My dad
paints – birds mainly – and his mum painted too, so I'm keeping
it in the family.

   Now I love working with acrylics and large canvases because they're so vibrant and because of the freedom of expression they allow, and the endless possibilities in depth of colour and texture I have found some mistakes are actually worth making! It is an exciting journey and one I am having great fun with!

 

When did you gain the confidence to start selling your work?

I had filled the walls in my flat with some of my abstract paintings
and was running out of space. This, combined with the encouraging comments I was getting from friends and family, provoked me to
list a few paintings on eBay! These sold very well and from here I approached an art gallery who gave me my first commercial break. When these paintings started selling as well, I thought I might be producing something people actually wanted and researched online
art galleries where the commission charges weren't so high. From there I built my own website and developed a lot of contacts in the art community, who have been an amazing resource for ideas, support and encouragement. One year, I sold 43 paintings – I couldn't believe it. It can be a very scary world to be in where you are putting something you have created and pumped all your emotions into out into the public, where you are then vulnerable to every negative comment.

 

Talk me through a few of your pieces...

Field of Poppies is one of my most popular. It's a contemporary painting of a field of fresh, bright poppies. I have textured the background with swirls of cream and coffee to set off the bright
red petals of the poppies and to create a modern style. Another favourite is the Tuscan scene in purple and brown vibrant colours.
I also do fun children's artwork, such as the Animal Train, and I also take commissions. 

 

Where are your showcasing your work or selling it?

I produce my work in my studio at home in Cookham. It has been exhibited at the Holy Trinity Parish Centre in Cookham, Chalfont Art & Framing took some of my early pieces, and Mulberry in Beaconsfield also sold some of my work – I know the CEO of Camelot bought some. 

   On 28th November, I shall be at the Cookham Christmas Fayre selling Christmas cards and mini prints. I'm sharing the stall with my mum and sister, who are also both very crafty – they will be selling silver jewellery and Christmas decorations.

   I will also be at Art in the Street in Maidenhead on 5 December. And my work is for sale at Oberon Art in Burnham, which is exciting.

 

What are your aspirations for the future?

I would love to have my work in a cafe or hotel chain (Costa, take note). That would be amazing. 

 

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