About the Artist
I was born in England, in my Mum and Dads upstairs bedroom, during a snowstorm.
My father was an engineer. He used to bring home huge sheets of paper for us to draw on. They had engineering plans printed on one side but it was the other side, the blank white side that I was interested in. I spent many hours drawing Toad of Toad Hall. I never actually read Wind in the Willows but my sister told me all about it.
My Mother was a teacher. One of the children from her classroom would go to the adjoining nursery school (kindergarten) to pick me up and take me back to her classroom. I would sit at her desk in front of all the kids and draw while I was waiting for her to finish work.
Then we all got on a ship and sailed to Australia.
I spent the rest of my childhood mostly outside, catching the local wildlife, making mud pies, constructing beds in trees and various other boisterous childish pursuits. I remember clearly the pleasure of not having to wear shoes in Australia, except in school. If I had to be inside I drew pictures.
By this time I was 18 I had started my career in art by doing a Foundation Art course for a year then a Diploma of Art and Design at Prahran College in Melbourne for three years.
During my diverse career, I have illustrated children’s books, designed t-shirts, and many freelance illustration jobs, opened a shop in Collingwood where we would make our artwork and sell it to the public, painted beautiful church windows, had exhibitions, waitressed, gardened, cooked, cleaned, picked flowers and made two lovely children.
When I was 43 I did a Bachelor of Fine Art at RMIT, which was three years of experimenting and exploring and an all round excellent time. As well as my major subject of painting I took electives in printmaking, bookbinding, and digital art.
Now I am selling my artwork as prints and cards, painting, teaching art classes and making painted stained glass panels
