My paintings have an illustrative, traditional approach with a love of the tactile nature of paint. I was driven by the influence of artists such as Anna Marie Pacheco, Paula Rego and Stanly Spencer, to name a few. Later works by outsider artists led me to produce works with a faux primitive leaning. All my paintings and drawings have a strong underpinning narrative. Early work dealt with my social anxiety, possibly exploring my undiagnosed autism. The kitchen gallery works dealt with the joy of seeing and painting brought on by the birth of my daughter, Anna. The most recent works explore my past art themes and new ones, such as politics and climate change. Introducing more cinematography themes has added a new direction to the work. I am using text-to-image AI software to drive much of the image-making, which can be seen in fuel stops and cars.
From 2007 to 2023, I was a full-time higher education lecturer. I was in St Helens from 2007-2013, Plymouth University from 2013-2015, and De Montfort University from 2015. I taught a wide range of digital and traditional techniques for Game Art and Animation. This included asset creation for 3D and 2D games, visualisation techniques, storytelling and life drawing. The technical and creative aspects have influenced my new work. My work with digital art started through an MA in Multimedia from Liverpool John Moores University from 2000 to 2001.
I was a partner in the Kitchen Gallery from 2006 – 2008, a small artist-led gallery that ran a fine art and craft gallery with several Arts Council-funded high-profile national exhibitions. During this time, I produced bodies of work such as people and portraits, houses, ships, and observations.
Before that, I graduated with a BA in Arts from Leicester Polytechnic from 1986 to 1989. I produced work as a magazine illustrator (1990 – 1992); no examples are shown on the site. I produced a body of work loosely titled melodrama, which toured the north-west of England. Thanks to ArtReach. I taught part-time watercolours and traditional painting to local art groups, some with the WEA, from 1996 -2006. After gaining an MA in Multimedia from Liverpool John Moores University, I worked as a freelance multimedia artist and a practitioner in the creative arts from 2001-2002. As a freelance digital artist, I received a range of commissions from prominent organisations such as English Heritage, NESTA, Catalyst Discovery Centre, FACT Liverpool and Norton Priory Museum and Gardens.
| Selected Solo Shows | ||
| 2008 | ‘Transient’ Digital Artworks, The Kitchen Gallery, Norton Priory, Cheshire | |
| 2000 | ‘Toy Spy’ Huyton Library Gallery, Huyton Liverpool | |
| 1998 | ‘Anna’s Animals’ Orrell Art Centre | |
| 1998 | ‘Portraits from the Ark’ Hanover Gallery. Liverpool | |
| 1997 | ‘Stash on paper’ “Dark Works, Beluga Bar 24/40 Wood St Liverpool | |
| 1995 | ‘Orrell Art Centre’ Linacre Lane, Bootle, Merseyside | |
| 95 – 96 | ‘Melodrama’ a travelling show by ‘Art Reach’ | |
| Feb 97 | Reston’s Solicitors, Cheshire | |
| Nov 96 | Northwich Library, Witton Street, Cheshire CW95DR | |
| Aug 96 | Wallasey Village Library, Wirral | |
| May 96 | Castle Park Arts Centre, Castle Park, Fountain Lane, Frodsham, Cheshire WA6 6SE | |
| Mar 96 | Ty Llen, National Literature Centre, Somerset Place, Swansea SA1 1RR | |
| Feb 96 | Skelmersdale Art Centre, Central Library, Southway, Skelmersdale, WN8 6NL | |
| Jan 96 | Eastham Library, Mill Park Drive, Wirral L62 9AN | |
| Oct 95 | Rock Ferry Library, Grove Road, Wirral L42 | |
| Sept 95 | Beechwood Library, 8 Beech Drive, Birkenhead, Wirral L43 7ZU | |
| Selected Group Shows | |
| 2023 | The OPEN exhibition, the Lake Gallery, West Kirby. |
| 2014 | “Contemporary Coastlines”, The Studio, Lacey St, Widnes |
| 2013 | ‘Revealing the Invisible’ The Pie Factory, Margate |
| ‘Paint! at the Egg’ Egg Café Top Floor, 16 – 18 Newington, Liverpool, L1 4ED | |
| 2012 | ‘Paint’ Egg Café Top Floor, 16 – 18 Newington, Liverpool, L1 4ED |
| ‘West Lancashire OPEN Exhibition 2012’ Chapel Gallery, St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 4QR | |
| ‘Over the Water, Through the City, Into the Park’ land and cityscape theme to be held at the Vice Chancellor’s Lodge | |
| 2010 | ‘Abstract’ The Old Police Station. Lark Lane, Liverpool |
| 04-08 | Kitchen Gallery and Studio, a series of exhibitions and an open door policy to the public. Norton Priory, Cheshire. |
| 2008 | ‘People & Love’ at the Grange, Liverpool. |
| ‘Digital Video’ (40 minutes) Vinyl Lark Lane Liverpool, performance by “The Late King Hill” | |
| 2007 | ‘Artists & Identity’ at the Grange, Liverpool |
| 04-06 | ‘Cheshire Open Studios’ Kitchen Gallery and Studio, Norton Priory, Cheshire. |
| 2005 | The Brindley, Halton, Cheshire. |
| Barn Gallery, Henley on Thames | |
| ‘Cheshire Open’ Grosvenor Gallery, Chester | |
| ‘Affordable Art Fair’ Battersea, London | |
| 2004 | ‘Cheshire Open’ Grosvenor Gallery, Chester |
| 2003 | Dukes Oak, Cheshire |
| ‘Manchester Art Show’ Urbis, Manchester | |
| 2002 | Woolff Gallery, 69 Leonard St, London |
| 1998 | ‘Sefton Open Exhibition’ Atkinson Art Gallery, Lord St, Southport |
| 1997 | ‘Visionfest Open Exhibition’ Atkinson Art Gallery |
| 1995 | ‘Portobello Prize Open 5’ Tabernacle Gallery, Powis St, London W11 2AY |
| ‘Multimedia Christmas Exhibition’ MCA, (Merseyside Contemporary Artists) The Acorn Gallery, Newington Liverpool L1 4ED | |
| ‘Network 94’ Acorn Gallery | |
| ‘3 Person Show’ MCA, Acorn Gallery | |
| ‘MCA Exhibition’ Atkinson Gallery | |
| 1989 | ‘Northern Graduates’ The New Academy Gallery, 34 Windmill St, London W1P 1HH |