About the artist

Now living in Leeds, West Yorkshire, I have had a love of drawing and painting since I was a child growing up in my hometown of Nantwich in Cheshire. My love of animals and wildlife has stemmed from that of my family and has also played a huge part in my art work especially drawing horses with one teacher at my old grammar school commenting if I could have found a way of bringing horses into maths I would have!!

I left Cheshire for London to study applied biology, worked for the Royal veterinary College and then moved to Leeds in the late 80’s where I’ve lived ever since. Having had a very happy career spanning 30 years in research at Leeds University, in 2020 the opportunity arose for me to change tack and turn my love of drawing into a profession full time.

I had continued to pursue Art through part time study when I initially came to Leeds having studied science A levels at school. I completed my A level in Art at Park Lane College and then completed a diploma in Fine Art at Leeds College of Art and Design. During this time, I drew portraits of people through commissions and exhibited a portrait at an open exhibition at Leeds City Art gallery, which sold and led to further commissions.

I’m now able to dedicate all my time to producing artwork and commissions and my love of drawing animals seemed the natural progression. Having previously had our much-loved cat, Omar, for over 20 years and now our whippet, Ned, I know how much joy pets bring to our lives. Those who know me well will also know how much I love horses. My family have always had a deep love of horseracing so it was natural to also include equine portraits in my work.

I hope to create drawings which are a true likeness but more importantly, I hope to show their true character. The nicest thing anyone can say to me is that I have captured their pet's personality. Conveying that is the most important thing to me and distinguishes it from being just another animal drawing.