As an artist, I am largely self-taught: I took Art A-level but then read Classics at Oxford rather than going to Art school. I have drawn and painted throughout my life but much more so since my return to Oxford to live in 1998.

I love trying to capture people in action or engrossed in activity but I can be inspired by anything I see around me, particularly if it involves powerful forms or strong light and shade.  Most of what I produce is representational: I like how the world around me looks too much to let go of it very often.

Recently I have been focusing more inwardly, looking at my personal experiences and how they have shaped my identity. In looking for a framework for this work, I have gone back to my love of ancient Greek sculpture and art: "Three Caryatids" (see images) is the start of a series of paintings I am working on a the moment which draw on Greek statuary to help me express ideas about personal identity and friendship.

I work mainly in pastel, acrylic paint and collage: I prepare my own collage papers using acrylic paints, often recycling newspapers, tissue paper from purchases or scraps of art papers, to give myself different textures of paper and a subtle range of colours, which I know will stay true over time, to work with.

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