I have been painting for most of my life, though devoting much more time to it in the last twenty years or so. I am largely self-taught as an artist, though I do have a Master’s Degree in the History of Art, which means I have looked closely at an awful lot of pictures! While studying for my MA I lived for a time in Venice, which may partly explain my interest in water and reflections.


I started off painting watercolour landscapes, but now the majority of my paintings are completely abstract, concerned with colour, texture and surface, comprising multiple layers of images. The layers in the painting which are mostly concealed can be as important to the final result as those which are most visible. My aim is to produce something beautiful which is not obviously depicting anything in the real world. My intention is not that the viewer should be drawn to any focal point, but that the eye should range over the surface, sometimes pausing to take in the detail of each area. I want the paintings to have a calming, meditative atmosphere. I generally work in acrylic on canvas or board. Recently I have been concentrating on three series of paintings – the Mantra series and the Reflections series are longstanding projects. I have also started a new series which I call Beyond.


I work in a studio at the bottom of my garden in Stratford-upon-Avon.