The inspiration for my work comes from a love of drawing life around me, capturing fleeting moments of passers-by going about their daily lives and routines. My work evolves through a series of stages transforming rough sketches into distinctive hand made prints with rich velvety tones contrasting with fine drypoint lines. To satisfy my own curiosity I constantly seek information and inspiration by researching subjects and gathering ephemera. I endeavour to create something in which the viewer becomes curious and involved. The plate from which the images are printed are re-used and re-worked in a final voyage of experimentation until each image is finally exhausted. Music, words, mood or even the weather can change the path of a single piece or series of work.
Charlotte Salomon’s ‘Life or Theatre?’ in which the text and pictures are read like a diary, ‘The Diary of Frida Kahlo’ and my training as an illustrator have all played an active role in influencing my work, particularly the narrative and sequential elements. Other major influences are Charles Shearer, a printmaker and illustrator from the Orkney Islands, David Hockney and Elizabeth Blackadder.
The inspiration for my most recent series of work, ‘Ground Level’ came from a comparison of dance with the movement of organic vegetation in a local allotment. I loved the way in which the vegetation twisted and curled into one another and was struck by the inventive use of CD’s and plastic bottles used for scarecrows.
.I am a a member of IFL (Institute for Learning), Creative Greenhouse and a-n. I have created illustration work for Derby City Council, The University of Derby, Derby Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Fairytale Magazine.
Currently I have just completed a piece of work for an exciting exhibition ‘Never Let Me Go’ (work inspired by and incorporating the book) at the Quad in Derby 28th Jan – 13th Feb 2011. I am now working on new prints at Derby University as part of my AA2A (Artists Access to Art Collage) project.
