I'm an international selling artist specialising in pet portraits and British wildlife. I live and paint in the beautiful South Downs National Park, England with my husband and two dogs

It all began with a tiny nightingale watercolour. Desperate to get my uncle Peter something special for his birthday, I searched the loft for my old watercolour paints

I’ve always had a huge passion for anything that has fluffy ears and a tail. As a child, I would lie on my belly drawing animal after animal, especially dogs. My father was a talented watercolour artist and encouraged me to add colour to my many sketches. Although it scared me at first and I found it hard to control, I loved how it brought my animals to life

Although I continued to play around with watercolour paints, dipping in and out of it as the years went by, it wasn’t until my uncle’s nightingale that I was hooked, it was the right time, my art journey had begun!

At that time I was running my own gardening business full time, so the art had to fit in with that. It was still dogs I loved to paint, so it was a natural progression to take on pet portrait commissions. It started with friends, then friends of friends and the next thing I was sending pet portraits out to America! At that point, it was hard to fit it all in and feel I had the time to explore my style, so I reduced my gardening work and started to concentrate on setting up my art business.

In 2016 I began teaching my free flow methods to small groups of beginner artists. The pleasure of helping people unlock their painting potential, seeing their faces light up when they discover they can paint too, makes me happy

So today I still continue to learn and take huge pleasure in painting with watercolour. I strive to keep my work loose, free and fresh

It’s an unpredictable medium but it’s magic and I just adore it!