I am so glad you have come to visit!

Welcome to my world as I seek to capture light, emotion and movement through finely detailed portraiture in oils or charcoal.

My work endeavors to capture the spirit of a living soul, drawing you in through the expression in the eye and making you want to feel both the softness and strength of its form.

The eye of my subject is truly the window to its soul and it is here that I will look for the character, emotion and often, the beginnings of a conversation. I will usually start a portrait here and will only move on once I feel that the eye is ‘alive’ with enough depth and intensity.

Sometimes, just sometimes, when the magic is right, I can have a conversation with those eyes while I paint.

I also have an endless fascination with the relationship between the skeletal/ muscular structure and the surface of the body. Nowhere is this more evident than when I paint a horse - they are a contradiction - sublime beauty and softness on the outside, clothing a muscular and skeletal structure beneath that is capable of enormous power and strength. Capturing this duality is both a passion and a struggle that is likely to last a lifetime!

My artistic journey has taken a long and winding road….

Although I was born in London, I actually grew up on the other side of the world in Auckland, New Zealand (and yep, I did eventually come back!). 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the diversity of faces and figures around me, and honestly, I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t drawing.

But my love of art grew alongside a love of music (and strangely - mathematics) and when it came time to choose a career, music won the spotlight. 

I will never regret choosing music though, because so many good things happened in my life because of it - like taking me back to the UK and falling in love with my husband to be. 

So, off I went in a totally different direction - earning a degree in flute performance and later a Ph.D., all while soaking up everything that London life had to offer in my twenties.

Art took a backseat for a while… actually, more like 25 years!   

Fast forward through marriage, kids, and a life filled with music, and one day I decided to pick up a paintbrush again and join a local art course - just for fun. I wasn’t expecting much, but wow... it was like my love for painting and drawing had been patiently waiting for me all along. 

And so…..

Once I started again, I just couldn’t stop!

I now truly believe that that little artistic spark, ignited as a child, can stay with you all your life - a silent partner in all that you see and do - influencing the way that you observe things and continuing to train the eye and nurture an awareness of shape and form, regardless of whether or not you actively engage in it throughout the years.

Here I am today, working mostly in oils or charcoal and specialising in figurative drawings and paintings of people and animals - with a very special love for equine and wildlife subjects. 

I take on commissions from individuals and interior designers, release collections online, and regularly showcase my work at Contemporary Art Fairs. Somehow, my art has made its way into private collections around the world (I still have to pinch myself when I think about that!).

These days, I’m based in Wokingham, UK, with my wonderfully patient husband - who happens to be my biggest fan and toughest critic - our two teenagers, and a pair of crazy dogs who think they run the place. 

My studio? Well, I've laid claim to the conservatory, and it has become my sanctuary where I  get to enjoy a secondary career as a busy artist alongside my musical one.

Honestly, I can’t imagine my life without either of them!  

“Life beats down and crushes the soul and Art reminds you that you have one”

— STELLA ADLER