About Me

I am an artist based with my family in the heart of the New Forest.

After much instruction, in an array of art media, I find I can’t beat the sensation of slicing through oil colour with a palette knife or brush and applying it on board or canvas. Loose sketching in charcoal, pastel or ink is also much enjoyed and allows me to get a feel for the subject in my work. I usually emphasise lines, lights and shadows  and try to simplify a scene rather than over complicate.

I mainly paint New Forest scenes or the animals that have it as their home but will tackle most subjects .

My teenage years spent in the Forest on horseback, getting out into, what seemed at the time to be the middle of nowhere for hours on end, instilled in me an appreciation of what we have here, “over the cattle grid”!  Now I have returned to live here after studying natural sciences at Durham University and landscape design at Sheffield University. This was followed by working in the landscape architecture profession where I gained quick graphic skills to visualise design ideas. I naturally, as a result of my studies, have a deep fascination (almost obsession !) with this unique landscape as I look around me day to day. The animals, under management from the commoners, verderers and Forestry England shape the vegetation, often in a beautiful, understated way creating browse lines, lawns and pony paths whilst at the same time depending on it for food and shelter. There is a realisation that the animals have been, and still are, the architects in this special environment which I cannot help but admire. This admiration has led me to swap my drawing board for an easel. I now aspire to capture on canvas the treasures of our Forest in particular for those who can’t get out into the “middle of nowhere” as often as they might like.