About Me

I have always been a doodler, drawer and general scribbler. As a child, I was never happier than when I had a pot full of crayons, coloured pens and pencils, and a stack of paper in front of me. My Grandad was a keen amateur gardener. It was from him that inherited my passion for gardens and growing things.

In the 6th form, I studied Art and Biology at 'A'level. After this I went on to Writtle, College part of the university of Essex where I obtained a BSc Honours degree in Horticulture and it was a particularly thrill for all of my year group to receive our diplomas from Alan Titchmarsh. During the course I became particularly interested in historic gardens and, after graduation, I continued this direction at the University of Bristol where I obtained a masters degree in Garden History. I still retain this interest, and in my spare time I enjoy visiting historic houses and gardens (and especially their tea rooms!)

In 2003, I came to Wales to work as a garden conservator at St Fagans National History Museum. I really enjoyed the physical nature of the work, and was happy working outdoors all day, even when it was raining. However, following illness in 2006, I was no longer able to continue in this job, but found a position as a herbarium assistant at the botany department of the National Museum Cardiff.

My work here involved mounting dried pressed plant specimens for the herbarium archive. But it was also here that my love of plants and my artistic skills came together again. Encouraged by my parents, I took courses in botanical painting tutored by Siriol Sherlock, Christina Hart-Davies and Billy Showell.

It had not been my original intention to pursue a career in fine art but, nonetheless, it felt like a natural progression. I left the Museum in 2008 and now work part time in a bookshop whilst continuing to paint botanic subjects and develop my own style.

Since 2006, I have lived (with a motley array of houseplants) in Penarth, near Cardiff.