I am an artist from Belfast, N. Ireland. I work in mostly watercolour, and ink but like to add painted papers to my pieces and experiment with mixed media from time to time. Most recently my painting 'Hay Fever' was short listed for the Sunday Times Watercolour Artist of the Year Competition and three of my pieces, 'Thread Less Weave,'  'Pontefract Cakes' and 'Wednesday' were chosen to be displayed at the Stitchery exhibition at the Top Floor Gallery in Saintfield.

  My background is actually in textiles and I studied at Lougborough University graduating with first class BA(hons) in Printed Textiles in 2003. In the same year I won an RSA Travel Award to Italy and also a placement to work with textile design company Dorma in Manchester. I returned to Belfast and after selling several pieces from my degree show to local shops and the Ulster Museum Archives I decided  to set up my own design label hand crafting bags and accessories from my studio in Cotton Court Belfast.  I sold to many boutiques and galleries throughout Ireland and the U.K. I took part in runway shows at Belfast Fashion Week and Leitrim Design House and showed at many retail & trade fairs over the years.

  Recently I had some time out after the birth of my daughter but I have returned to creativity with a new interest and great enthusiasm for painting. It is a change of direction for me but at the moment I am really enjoying the freedom that painting brings and the easy of expression. I am interested in the quality of marks made from different mediums and techniques focusing on line, texture and depth. It is exciting to see the manner in which paint reacts with different papers when it is applied at various stages of the evolution of the piece. There is an element of chance when letting the paint have a certain amount of liberty which I enjoy. Colour plays a huge role in my pieces and I like working in tonal hues using a variety of paints and ink. I'm inspired by nature particularly wild grasses and seed heads although it is not my intention to replicate what I see more to create an impression, a feeling.