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Painter of Dogs and Country Life

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"It is clearly possible to use imitation or representation in producing a great work of art, but it can't be the object of a great artist to tell you the facts at the cost of telling you what he feels about them"      

Vanessa Bell

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Welcome and thank you for visiting.  Whether you're interested in commissioning a dog portrait, joining me for a workshop in Hadleigh or taking a look at the rest of my portfolio, here's a little about me ...

I'm a painter based in the beautiful county of Suffolk who paints flowers, dogs, landscape and occasionally, people.  Further to studying Art and the History of Art at A Level and experimenting with pastel in the aftermath, I undertook an Oil Painting Diploma at the Norfolk Painting School, graduating in 2021.  It was here that I studied the Old Masters in depth and found new ways to express myself in paint.

When not painting commissions, I paint to exhibit and have shown my work across East Anglia through a variety of established outlets to include Suffolk Open Studios, The Ipswich Art Society, The Colchester Arts Society and The Institute of East Anglian Art where in 2021, at their Annual Open, a portrait of my blue Whippet was 'commended' - since when I've become a regular exhibitor at the Gallery Holt, Norfolk.

A country girl at heart, I am continually inspired by the natural world and the corner of Suffolk I inhabit whose various enchantments of fur, flower, sea and sky are always urging me to describe 'what is felt' as much as 'what is seen'.  Feeling connected to my subject is a vital part of my process. Painting is really my gratitude journal for living and my portfolio, a log-book of favourite things: The furry friend in sweet repose, flowers given by a loved one or grown in the garden or vistas which have made the soul soar or are part of the well-trodden path. As far as picture-making goes, I'm not sure if it's colour, composition, rhythm or line that excites me most but know it's a mixture of all these things combined with the smell of oil paint and that elusive feeling of being alive when I have a paintbrush in hand and know what it is I want to describe.  Beyond that, it's the perpetual challenge of creating a 'work of art' that keeps me hooked.

Dogs

It was in 2009 that I picked up the pencils and set about drawing them in earnest. I was newly divorced then and, at that time, my hobby became valuable not only as pocket money but also as a discipline which set me on the path to healing. Fifteen years on,  my portfolio has broadened to flowers and other things but I still paint dogs to commission and value the sense of connection that working with others brings as much as I value the discipline of fulfilling a brief, each one so various and broadening. If you'd like to see some of my past commissions, click here and for all other works and commission enquiries, just keep on scrolling.

Teaching

From June 2024 I'll be offering one-to-one oil-painting tuition at my studio in Hadleigh. If you'd like to come and paint some flowers with me or learn the basics of painting animals or still life, then please drop me a line and click here for Workshops.

Recent and Future Exhibitions 2024

In Spring I was selected to exhibit at St Clements Art Centre by the Ipswich Art Society on occasion of their 145th open exhibition and in June I opened my studio as part of Suffolk Open Studios. In May and August and this October I exhibited alongside fellow Suffolk Open Studio artists at the Pond Gallery, Snape Maltings, The Old Goods Shed, Clare and Grundisburgh House, near Woodbridge whose exhibition runs until the 29th October. From October until the end of November, a large body of my work will be on show at The Leaping Hare, Wyken Vineyards, near Bury St Edmunds, and after that, on the 7th and 8th of December, I'll be in Thorpe Morieux with the Heart of Suffolk group for their annual end of year show.

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With 'The Last of the Dahlias' at the Ipswich Art Society

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