Me

I live near Newbury in Berkshire. Mainly I am a home bod. I like walking dogs, making cakes and gardening. Apart from my painting... I'm the chair of a local volunteer driving organisation; I ring the bells of the church I live next to; and I'm rowing around Great Britain this summer. I've been married to Mark for over 30 years and have an 19-year-old daughter, Poppy.

My painting

I've been thrilled by the natural world since I was very young. I've always been inspired by the beauty of the small and seemingly most insignificant things in nature.

To see the world in a grain of sand
Heaven in a wild flower
William Blake (from Auguries of Innocence)

This is what I like to paint.

Training

I went to the Gemini School of Illustration from 1989-91 and had the fortune to be taught by Roger Barcilon. He did a great job of establishing the techniques, that 25 years or so later, I rely on every day. I also did a one-year botanical painting course at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London.

The rowing thing

I rowed the coastline of Great Britain in 2017 - see About the row. I'm currently training for the the Devizes to Westminster canoe race.