Trapped Painting

I am a British Artist and Designer that grew up on the South Coast of England. After Art School I received a degree in Fashion Design. While working for the creative fashion company Ted Baker as a Technical Designer, I realized I had a need to create for myself. So, in my spare time, I would create fun contemporary art pieces inspired by my childhood memories. In 1999 I had an exhibition within my own home for fun and invited family and friends. Within a few years I did over twenty pop up art shows around London. I showed my art in small gallery spaces, bars and restaurants. In 2005 I got married to my soulmate and moved to California and was able to work on my art fulltime. I had my first group art show in Palm Springs in 2008 at Janssen Art Space. Then in 2010 my husband had a job opportunity in Canada. Leaving my art behind in Palm Springs was very difficult. To continue to be creative I started manipulating photos of my original artwork with Photoshop. I discovered I enjoyed making prints using my art as a starting point. I started to use print on demand companies for fun. Other companies then reached out to me and so I started licensing my prints on a wide variety of products. After winning two print competitions with the company Printed Village, they then invited me to go to New York. This was to film an episode of The Profit with Marcus Lemonis with my famous geometric print that one of his companies wanted as a swimsuit. The following year I won the Threadless Accelerator Award, and I was given money to help me boost my art business. We decided to return to Palm Springs in 2018. Since moving back, I have had several successful art shows. I am particularly happy that my studio space located next to the family home is now back up and running. While working in it I feel like I have returned to my happy place. I believe that art does not always have to be flat and it does not always have to be on walls. Sometimes I like to paint in blocks of color or stencil my colors using handmade stencils. I also like to use plaster casts and compose my casts on canvas. I work in a minimal and clean way. My work is almost childlike and naïve, but my pieces are created in a well thought out way. Sometimes the ideas have been in my head for a long time before I am able to execute them. My original art works are inspired by memories or stories. In particular I create art that is connected to the games and toys I played with as a child.