Surfer 2 - Harlyn Bay, Cornwall, UK Print

I lived out my childhood in rural Worcestershire. My love of art was never truly nourished until I hit my mid twenties. School art was pencil and paper with some impossible to get colour out block paints. But I just 'felt' I needed to paint. One day, aged 26, I said to my husband - 'look what I've done'. There in front of him was a red rectangle on a blue rectangle - painted onto the back of an old clip frame board! I hadn't heard of Mark Rothko - but it was basically an extreme amateur version of such. I continued to paint absolute madness - whatever I dreamt of - imagined etc - with no idea how to paint. Eventually I decided I really needed to know a bit more and enrolled in the Open University Arts course. This is where I was lucky enough to meet the exceptional and wonderful Oliver Warman ROI, RBA. Sadly he is no longer with us - but he taught me everything from rabbit skin glue on the board (I don't use it!) to how to 'squint' to see the tones. I remember once he took me to a ditch and said - 'There, paint that'. I looked at him in disbelief - 'You're kidding right'. 'Get on with it girl'. He was a Colonel in the army and knew how to order the troops! But I did find colour and tone in that ditch - and there was a lesson learnt. There is beauty and/or interest everywhere. I love to paint the sea (from the middle of England this can present a problem); and many of my paintings depict elements of the Cornish coast. I love to try new styles too and try and learn from the masters. I am useless at selling my own stuff!