The Amber Necklace Painting

My work drips, swirls, layers and streams colour. It's a clear statement about the power of colour to energise our senses and feed our thoughts and fantasies. It's abstract, but the traumas of the earth and the rage of long-forgotten victims are recurring themes. Apocalyptic figures storm from the canvas, 'Furies' on a quest to avenge the injustices and misogyny of the world. I also rework Gauguin's Tahitian paintings, reclaiming the exploited young women as empowered 'witches', no longer weak or submissive. Other compositions include 'maps' of the sea and land incorporating bird and animal motifs and 'necklace' paintings with carved beads layered over mourning 'figures', lost in lament. my paintings are unashamedly gothic, but touches of humour are also in evidence. My paintings are rendered and dripped in liquid acrylics. After a lengthy career in fashion, I picked up my paints again and poured my passions onto canvas. My career made me profoundly aware how colour can appeal and affect mood. It also clarified how women are treated and often exploited within the industry. After years of faster and faster fashion I seek to make amends by creating work that references the state of the world today and the climate catastropohe. I'm a Londoner, originally from Carlisle in the north, and came down to study at University. Sadly the subject was not art, although it would have been my first choice if earning a living had not been a priority. I worked in fashion, as the Buying Director for Freedom jewellery and numerous other brands for many years. I've always drawn, written and painted. Artists who have seriously influenced me include Frank Bowling, Souza, Marlene Dumas, Odilon Redon and Gauguin. For my upcoming solo show at HLSI Galley Highate, I'm creating a book 'Frays and Furies' comprising pictures of key paintings and writing.