"Winter Solstice" Painting

After my foundation year at college I then trained for my Art degree at the world-renowned Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, concentrating on printed textiles but working across a range of media including photography. I spent the next 3 decades raising my family as we moved around the UK and Europe, painting for my own pleasure but also exhibiting, selling privately and taking commissions. Having sold many dozens of originals, hundreds of limited-edition prints and over 15,000 cards, my works have gone around the world, including international commissions for watercolours and silk paintings. I still work mainly in watercolours and acrylics, but in recent years I have returned to textile works, producing hand-painted silk scarves and hangings using steam-set dyes that have tremendous vibrancy. I love colour and how it works – I take time to see all of the colour in a scene or subject, like the purples that hide within tree trunks and the blues within snow. I am also fascinated with the interplay of light and shadow, and how light reflects off not just surfaces like water, but buildings, trees and boats. My favourite subjects include coastal, beach and mountain scenes, and also woodland, buildings and boats, with tulips often featuring in my silks. Although much of my artistic inspiration comes from the beautiful scenery and old townscapes of Scotland, especially around the Moray Firth, the north-west coast, Fife and Shetland, I have drawn inspiration from life in Cornwall, the Derbyshire Peak District, and two years living in Norway, painting the rugged mountain and fjord scenery and colourful Norwegian buildings. Many of my artworks have been sold direct to buyers - sometimes before they were even finished! - or were specially commissioned. I have also exhibited and sold art in galleries and other venues in London, Stavanger and around the north of Scotland, including at Logie Steading, the Nairn Book and Arts Festival, a solo exhibition in Forres, and at Boath House. I routinely sell through my own website, and have donated works to charity and other fundraising auctions. Now, with more time to paint, my portfolio is building up and it has become time to move onto the global platform of Saatchi Art. If you like my art, but don’t see exactly what you are looking for, please get in contact to discuss a commission – it costs nothing to ask!