About

I grew up in the Kent countryside with a love of myths and legend, fuelled by Tolkien, C S Lewis and Andrew Lang. This gave me a sense of magic and romance that has stayed with me through life.

From an early age, it was the visual aspect of these stories that most appealed to me - the illustrations of Henry J Ford, Maurice Sendak and Arthur Rackham. Later of course I discovered the pre-Raphaelites and Mucha’s wonderful theatrical posters of fantastical, graceful women. Having drawn extensively through my childhood and with an encouraging mother who taught botanical illustration at Kew, it was expected I would go to Art school. But life took a more academic turn and instead I headed to Oxford to study Experimental Psychology and after that a career in academic publishing. But drawing stayed with me and in later life I have studied oil painting at the Univerity of Arts, London and been mentored by a leading contemporary portrait artist - helping me bring the world in my head to life through paint.