My Story

My artistic journey began primarily with life drawing, I have always been arty but this was when my attention became focused. The first life drawing class I attended was at school when I was 16, and I became fascinated with the ability to capture the human form. If you’ve ever seen the movie Titanic and know the iconic scene, ‘Draw Me Like One of Your French Girls’ , this was surprisingly the first time I had ever seen someone draw properly. I was fascinated by the concept that one could capture what was in front of them on paper. That is precisely what I aspire to do with drawing and painting – to capture the beauty in the world around me.

When I left school I went to university, but not to study art, instead Philosophy. However, I kept practicing life drawing as a hobby at Draw Brighton, a huge life drawing community. After finishing my degree I took the Atelier course at Draw. I studied here full-time for a year and just absorbed as much as I could, attending life drawing sessions 5 to 6 times a week, and ending the year with a group exhibition at Gallery 40 in the Brighton Laines.

My journey then brought me to Western Australia. I stayed in the land of beautiful sunshine and beaches for two years. I rented a studio at PS Art Space, which was part of an art studio complex, so I got to interact with many other brilliant artists, some of whom guided me and became close friends. The studio complex also housed two gallery spaces, where I worked part-time learning the other side of being an artist. It was here that I had my first and second solo exhibitions. Both exhibitions focused on large figurative oil paintings, continuing the theme of life drawing.

Then I moved to France. Because I was unable to have a studio for some time, and it being summertime, I decided to start painting outside in the beautiful French countryside. I spent the year learning how to paint landscapes, and how to paint ‘alla prima’, which is an oil painting completed in one session. I loved being able to capture what was around me.

I have lived in two continents and three countries now. I travel, but more slowly than others, living for a few years in each place. This gives me time to really appreciate new cultures and landscapes, and I wish to be able to express that through my artwork.

I am now moving again, still in France but leaving the countryside for the city. I want to continue to capture the stories around me, so my focus is now to learn watercolour painting. This will allow me to practice my art whilst travelling with more ease. I document my art journals on Instagram. The portfolio from my previous exhibitions in Australia can be found here.