About me
The reaction of most people I talk to now is "Lino printing? Oh yes I did that at school”
(- and there often follows tales of hard lino, blunt tools and minor injuries)
My education was seriously lacking in that respect - maybe I just went to the sort of school where they weren't going to let the kids loose with carving tools.
I adored drawing when I was young, studied Art up to A level, but there I stopped.
Life intervened and somehow, something I loved became something I never did.
The seeds of change were sown when I visited the Victoria gallery in Bath in 2012 and saw a printmaking exhibition: wonderful prints which were at the same time simple, bold, delicate, immediate and complex, a style that I hadn't encountered before which spoke to me. I was inspired to rush off, buy a starter kit and try for myself.
To paraphrase Mark Twain - "I never let schooling interfere with my education" so I embarked on a journey of discovery; to uncover the mysteries of printmaking. I was hooked. Proudly self taught, I developed skills through workshops, books, demonstrations and of course many, many hours of practise - trial and error.
Going forward, I have grown and developed my work and now have a dedicated printmaking studio and a thriving printmaking practise.
I have taken part in Oxfordshire Artweeks each year since 2018 with successful group and solo shows.
I was invited to become a member of Oxford Art Society in January 2019, and I now exhibit regularly with them.
I have had prints shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2019 and 2024
My print “Christmas in the Covered Market” was selected to be included in the Oxford Art Book published in 2018 (info in the links section) and was commissioned as the 2020 Christmas card for an Oxford College.
My print "Lanterns in the Covered Market" was selected to be used as a display board by Oxford City Council in 2022 to promoting art in Oxford.
Another of my prints "Historic Oxford" is now licensed for use as a postcard for guests, by the Randolph Hotel Oxford.
I enjoy exhibiting and selling in person locally, I also have busy online shops here on my website, Artfinder and Etsy where I sell to the UK and internationally.
More recently I have extended my practise to include teaching linocut workshops in schools, community settings and in my studio which I thoroughly enjoy.
Inspirations
I am constantly on the look out for new ideas for subjects, and themes that will suit the way I work. I photograph as much as I can while I’m out and about. The majority of themes reflect my affection for the British countryside. I live in a tiny village and walk my dogs in the fields near where I live, so inspiration from animals, birds, flowers, trees and the changing seasons are never far away.
I enjoy the challenge of rendering a picture using bold shapes and few colours and I think linocut is the perfect medium for showing this off.
I love the combination of artistry, technical challenge and (let's face it) a pinch of luck that is needed to produce a print, and I’m constantly in awe of what is revealed when the paper is peeled back from the block.
I am constantly on the look out for new ideas for subjects, and themes that will suit the way I work. I photograph as much as I can while I’m out and about. The majority of themes reflect my affection for the British countryside. I live in a tiny village and walk my dogs in the fields near where I live, so inspiration from animals, birds, flowers, trees and the changing seasons are never far away.
I enjoy the challenge of rendering a picture using bold shapes and few colours and I think linocut is the perfect medium for showing this off.
I love the combination of artistry, technical challenge and (let's face it) a pinch of luck that is needed to produce a print, and I’m constantly in awe of what is revealed when the paper is peeled back from the block.
