I was born and brought up in the Black Mountains in Wales. After an art foundation course in Cardiff I studied Fine Art at Oxford Brookes. My early work was in oils but I gradually incorporated collage using textiles and drawings.

 

I now work mostly in watercolour, gouache and ink. The finished paintings are an assemblage of individual ink and watercolour drawings collaged onto a decorative background, often embellished with metal leaf. Each component may be eccentric and unexpected in the finished context but on closer inspection there is a narrative.

 

I often incorporate themes from fairy tales and legend yet at other times the story may be open to interpretation. The middle child of five, I draw on happy childhood memories, recalling well-loved toys, games and stories.

 

The rural Welsh countryside in which I grew up has also influenced my work, in particular the landscapes and buildings which I have used as a backdrop for many of my paintings.

 

Images are combined to provoke the imagination so the viewer is left to determine the story for themselves.