I have enjoyed painting
since I was a very small
child, having been
encouraged by my parents
who were very creative
themselves.
I had no
real opportunity to
develop any talent I had
until my husband retired
in 1993. I then began
to couple my love of
gardening with my love
of painting by producing
several flower
paintings, which, to my
joy, I sold.
After several painting
holidays under the
tuition of Judith Milne,
an excellent tutor, my
flower paintings became
more and more detailed.
I also had the
opportunity of spending
a week with
Anne-Marie Evans,
a reputable teacher of
botanical painting.
Over the course of the
intervening years I now
have my paintings in
collections in several
countries. In the
U.S.A. in South Africa,
in Japan and, of course,
in the United Kingdom.
Not everyone appreciates
really detailed work,
though, and I found
myself quite isolated
amongst my painting
friends.
“You ought to paint more
loosely”, was the
continual cry. “Free
yourself, don’t get
bogged down in detail”.
Then, at a very short
weekend course with
Pauline Denyer,
I discovered ‘miniature’
painting! What a joy to
be able to paint as tiny
and as detailed as I
wanted! No longer was I
called upon to become
‘more loose’. Now I
could indulge my own
pernickety method of
painting.
I have since had the joy
of receiving commissions
for my miniature
portraits and have had
them exhibited in
several exhibitions
–including the World
Exhibition of Miniature
Paintings in Washington
DC, and the regular
annual exhibitions of
the
Society of Limners
and the
Hilliard Society in
England.
I
have always been
fascinated by the detail
in the world around us,
and found my earliest
satisfaction in painting
flowers, observing how
they grow and watching
as they opened up
whatever the
circumstances. I was
very impressed by the
fact that they bloomed
whether anyone was there
to see them or not! So
very different from us
humans, who seem to
blossom best when being
observed.
More recently I have
been painting portraits,
particularly miniature
portraits, and have
found – once again – the
amazing fascination of
detail and form. So
much can be observed in
the expression on
someone’s face,
particularly in the
naïve innocence of a
child’s face. |
