Inspired by the nature I see on my daily walks in the woods and open fields around my home in Haddington and the history of of Pagan Europe. I enjoy creating paintings with ancient techniques : raw pigments and beeswax, collaged papers stained with botanical inks made from local trees, distemper and egg tempera.
My intention is to make work that connects emotionally with the viewer and stirs a memory of ancient places and mystery, an atmosphere they can’t quite put a name to but they can feel. A timeless space to pause for a while, a sanctuary to escape our fast paced modern lives, a portal where you might encounter visions of the Otherworld.
This work is for those that still feel the glimmer of magic in the dappled glens, still sense the ancient presence in the wooded groves and long to return to a world that many have never existed.
T H E S E A N C I E N T L A N D S
A body of work made with collage, natural inks, monoprints, raw pigments, egg tempera and beeswax
H I N T E R L A N D
Tiny 10 x 10 cm paintings made with raw pigment and beeswax on wood
R E A L M W E A V E R S
A body of work exploring Runic Yoga, the Norns and the workings of the Ancient Goddesses
O F P O R T A L S
A body of work exploring portals and doorways between the realms
S C U L P T U R E S O F
G O D D E S S E S
I make sculptures of Goddess forms from wire, paper, feathers, masking tape and fabric to draw and paint from but they become little works of art in their own right and had a power that surpasses the humble materials they are created from
I studied Printmaking at Norwich School of Art, graduating in 2001 and since then have been exploring the mysterious and otherworldly through print, sculpture and painting.
I continued my studies at Leith School of Art during 2014 and 2015 and enjoyed teaching and technician work there once my studies were finished. I have just finished the Professional Development Course at Paintbox Art School in Port Seton. I live and work in Haddington and have a studio up in my attic where I can lock myself away from the mundane and explore my strange and magical internal worlds.
It is always Nature first and foremost that inspires my work.
I start each day walking along the river paths near my home in Haddington and these walks serve as a space to think, to feel, to let thoughts rise and fall.
I believe everything natural has a spirit,
is animate, whether tree, bird, rock or plant and I look for the precious omens they send me.
Fallen branches spell out the patterns of the runes, a flash of a kingfisher, the quiet gift of watching the deer unseen, these are the signs that start my days.
It is an honour to walk these tracks in all seasons and all weathers, watching life unfurl, flourish and bloom, then sink back into decay.
I sing to the trees and to my gods.
Simple things but they are deeply felt and eventually make their way onto the page and into the canvas fuelled by instinct, the endlessly fascinating play of materials and research into the ancient and the mysterious.
