Biography

I am a painter, printmaker and gardener living in Cambridge. I was born 1954 near Paris, and grew up in London, Canada and Sussex.

I studied for a BA degree in English literature at Exeter university, graduating in 1976, and then lived in south London working briefly in a library, teaching English language and gardening (as well as getting involved in the feminist and peace movements). I trained in Wisbech as a gardener in 1979-80 and have mainly worked at this interspersed with periods of work in a wholefood cooperative (Arjuna, Cambridge) and vegetarian restaurant (The Wild Cherry, East London). I rediscovered my love of painting around 1991 when I went part time in my gardening job at Trinity college Cambridge and spent a day a week doing A level art. I then went on to study for a degree in Art at Anglia Ruskin university, Cambridge (1995-9), and a postgraduate Diploma in Painting from City and Guilds of London Art School (1999-2001). I'm very appreciative of my teachers past and present; both at college and for a number of years I attended classes run by Thomas Newbolt and later Clare Newbolt, and was a member of the Grantchester Tuesday Painters, led by Annette Walker, for a number of years. Since I have been to various classes by Tony Rothon and Sarah Nutley, Jane Strother, and Virginia Neild. I had valuable help with etching from Jason Hicklin at City and Guilds and with various media from teachers at the Curwen Print Study Centre near Cambridge. Currently I go along regularly to a group run by Virginia Neild, at her home in Suffolk , the Long House group and also paint with members of the Triratna Buddhist community.

I have also been a Buddhist for many years and in 1999 I was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order.

I exhibited for a number of years 1999-2005 as part of Cambridge Open Studios, mainly with Cambridge Artworks, an artists' cooperative I belonged to for 6 years. I exhibited with Cambridge Drawing Society regularly for about 10 years, also again with Cambridge Open Studios 2011, 2013, 2016 and in 2019 at my home.

I had solo exhibitions in May 2006 at The Drawing Room, Swaffham Prior, near Cambridge, at The Wild Cherry, London E2 in May 2009, at the Cambridge Buddhist Centre in November 2012 and in 2017, and in 2022 exhibited at the Old Fire Engine House with William and Jeremy Lintott.