artist statement

I have painted and drawn from a young age, especially from life, making observations on people and mood. I spent a year at the Visual Arts Studio in Glasgow, before going to study Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in 1997. I then went on to Queen Margaret University, graduating with a Post Graduate Diploma in Art Therapy in 1999. During my final year at Edinburgh College of Art I was awarded the Hulton Textile Award for painting. I had a very successful degree show where I sold all my work. I have work in the collection of the former Principal, and the Whole Works Therapy Centre, Edinburgh, as well as private collections in the UK, USA, Canada and Europe.

My interest in the human form throughout art school led me to studying Art Therapy, and from this I developed my painting of the figure alongside my interest in the human psyche and experience.

I am interested in the image of the sitter, and in conveying the essence of the person, and I believe that there are many aspects of a painting which may do this. I am drawn to the inner self of the person and of the artist, as well as the space around and between the figure and artist, and I try to reflect this in my art work . I draw and paint freehand from life as I believe that this is part of the process which conveys the mood of the painting. I also like to vary the media and technique depending on the dynamics of the mood/model/scene.

The art which influences me is art which has a spiritual and aesthetic dimension such as Eastern European Iconography, the paintings of Cezanne, Bonnard and Diebenkorn.

Since graduating from art school I have exhibited in commercial galleries, such as Scotland Art.com and the Tartan Gallery, alongside local East Lothian galleries and have taken part in joint shows at Leith School of Art and the Queen Margaret University Art Therapy Travelling Show, 1999. I attended Leith School of Art from 2006 to 2009 on the Being Human course, where I continued my study of the human figure