I started painting in Lockdown after many years of photography. I had studied printmaking but somehow I couldn’t find inspiration or a subject I really loved. I carved some lino cuts including a baby elephant which I liked, but couldn’t find anything that said what I felt and was original.
Although I felt I had a talent I was largely self-taught, with the help of YouTube, so I signed up at Omega Art School in Portsmouth and got some excellent tuition and techniques. Many thanks for the inspiration of the staff there: Kevin, Debs, Chris, Ella and Jackie in particular. They widened my horisons and introduced me to many artists I had never heard of, including Richard Dienkenhorn, William Kentridge and Glen Alps. To say nothing of modern women oil painters such as Sarah Manolescue and Jenny Aitken.
Many thanks to Ella who gave me the confidence to progress to oils and I really love them. I hadn’t picked up a paintbrush since school and I was now 76 and thought this is what I was meant to do with my life! I love painting portraits and landscapes, emphasizing the light. I am influenced by Monet and Matisse in particular and the wonderful artist John Singer Sergeant.
