Being Me

Never one for straight lines or coordinating looks. I love dining chairs that don't match, and pairing pieces that really have no business being together. Give me life's wobbles, happy accidents, and anything that doesn't feel contrived. And, if you add in the big skies here in East Anglia and a tube of yellow ochre, I'm very happy.

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Courage

When I started painting back in 2019, I had no idea where the journey would take me. Fast-forward to 2021, and it took a serious dose of courage to submit my work to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, just fifteen minutes before the deadline closed. But that last-minute leap of faith paid off when my painting, Ned, was selected by the show's coordinator, Yinka Shonibare.

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That imposter syndrome monster still sits on my shoulder from time to time, making me second-guess my colours, shapes, and forms. But I’ve learned that creative risks don’t always have to be grand affairs. For me, it's just about showing up, trusting my intuition, and enjoying wherever the process leads.

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​Connection

Connection runs through everything I paint. In my landscapes, it’s the big East Anglian skies that get me every time — that sense of space, light, and how a place can feel rather than look. One piece, Peach Velvet Sky, came from an evening at Snape Maltings — a vast sky over the marshes, a G&T and a Corinne Bailey Rae song title that just stuck with me.

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For my faces — many of which are featureless — it’s about a different kind of connection. I want to look beyond the features that should be there and find the person underneath. Beauty, youth, style, none of that defines us. I’m more interested in what’s left when that is all stripped away.

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Growth

When I started out, my motto was basically, “It can’t be wrong if you don’t know what’s right”. Somehow that led to the Royal Academy, solo shows, group shows, supportive new friends, and some truly  amazing connections and conversations. And and a passion that was never anticipated.

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Painting makes me slow down and appreciate things - the light, the colours, the moment. And if something I paint connects with someone else - if it stirs a memory or a feeling or just makes them pause, that takes me to my happy place.