About Me

I have been creative ever since I was a young child.  It was not until my youngest daughter was born I decided this was something I wanted to do professionally.
​That was  thirty years ago and I have made creativity and the arts my number one activity.
​With this enthusiasm and great desire to learn, I have been fortunate to share my skills.  For many years I have run workshops and taught in schools, colleges and run summer programs  working with Schools and Museums in Dorset,  Wiltshire Somerset Bath and in France. 

​My main focus now is Photography, Encaustic Painting and Luxury Greetings Cards.  This site is for anyone who wishes to purchase Greetings Cards individually made and a gift to be cherished for ever.  If you like a design contact me through this site and your choice can be made into practically any size probably no bigger than A3.  I can provide cards in packs of 5 or 10 at a special price or larger quantities.   All my cards are recyclable, so they can be passed on and on to several receivers until someone decides they like it enough to frame it.  They are all made individually so there may be slight variations but essentially all the same design. 

A 'Maker' is better suited to me as my Creativity and Art Evolves, Diversity is essential to keep it vibrant, interesting and alive.   There are so many wonderful materials and techniques to try out.   I have an 'A' Level in Art and 'A' Level in Printmaking and studied Art Foundation at Chester College of Further Education.  
Exploration of mediums has allowed me to experience something completely different, and I love the experimentation of being creative with that.  It is so exciting for me to work  with diverse processes, I am currently working with Egg Tempera which has a wonderful silky feel under the paintbrush and the results can vary as with glazes or layering for optimum opacity.
​Its incredible to think Egg Tempera was used thousands of years ago and still used today. I love the ecological nature of this material and the fact that I can work it with the Encaustic process, embellish  it with gilding and best of all can work with very fine brushes. 

My History

'​I was born in  Orleans, France, moved to the United Kingdom in the late 1960's.  Studied Art Foundation in Chester College of Further Education.  
I married young and had a large family, it was not until I divorced in the early 1990's I picked up a paint brush and reignited my passion for painting.

For the last 30 years I have worked hard, exhibited nationally and internationally.  In addition to pursuing this I went to college and did a Teaching Certificate which was useful in running workshops, giving me the confidence to teach on a one-to-one and private groups.  

To attract people to my studio, I started my own picture framing business and this was one of the best things I could have done.  Not only did people buy my art, I made some lovely friends and met interesting folks from every walks of life.  I could have a small gallery selling other artists work which worked well for everyone.  With running workshops, the framing, running courses and pursuing my own creativity, it was evident I was running out of space. 

It just seemed to make sense at the time to expand and grow not just creatively but emotionally and spiritually too.  Living in a foreign country was something I always wanted to do and as I speak French fluently the obvious choice.  My partner at the time was disillusioned with his job in the UK miserable and seemed perfect.  
We moved to France in 2008 with the intention of renovating an old farmhouse and barn, I would develop my art further with a more diverse audience.  Grow the framing business and run Creative Courses, including Yoga, Meditation and using the space as a global platform where strangers could get together and leave as friends.  It was successful for the first three years, and everything was really coming together, I was working on the barn, building up a client base, developing the website and very focused.  Then out of blue my partner just never came back from one of his trips to the UK.  He just took off without even a goodbye!   Due to my partner abandoning me and leaving me high dry financially I had a nervous breakdown and was forced to return to the UK.  At 53 restarting my life was life changing but not in a good way.  The only way I could think of surviving was Cleaning and Cooking, restarting the framing business was completely out of the question no studio and a 4 year break I had lost all my contacts and clients I had previously built up. 
It has taken me 8 years to rebuild and get back on an even keel and reinvent myself and my art. I don't have the same energy I had over ten years ago and I think after a trauma like I endured something changed inside my soul.  My art is different today, and more bijoux and compact.  My passion is still there and surprisingly better than before 2010.  My art feels more refined and perhaps that is because I am too! I have a very rewarding career, which keeps a roof over my head and food on the table.  I keep my  creative juices fresh, alive and productive everyday, I have regular walks in nature which is where I contemplate and come up with new ideas.  Routine is definitely the secret to my happiness. Everyday I seem to be able to fit more activities in my schedule, I bake my own bread regularly, cook for myself no processed food.  I make time for me!   

I am currently working on a series of new works gesso on panels and painted in Egg Tempera which is something I tried over twenty years ago but never pursued.  Encaustic Painting too which I love, but with lack of space makes it tricky to have a permanent working space. So am always on the look out for a studio.

I am working on designing Needlepoint Tapestries and working on selling kits through my Etsy Shop if you haven't already been there take a look around.  I'm also on Pinterest and other social media sites...but the best way to contact me is via email, I usually respond within the same day. 

Thank you for visiting my site please leave comments or anything else on my contact page and I will answer any queries you may have.  

the slide show depicts a new series of works, the paintings in egg tempera from the drawing stages through to the end. They still need to be varnished so very much a work in progress. The tapestry is taken from the paintings “The Tree of Life - Winter, and the “Tree of Life Summer” these come from being inspired by my environment I am currently working on “Autumn” and “Spring”. The random photograph of a bowl of flowers is just that random but beautiful it’s a contrast from the colourful paintings to the stark black and whites of the photo-painting