“As the daughter of an artist-illustrator, I was captivated by the possibilities of oil painting from a young age. My work is driven by a desire to push the boundaries of realism—to achieve a sense of life and emotion through careful observation and subtle shifts in hue, light and atmosphere. It interests me to sometimes push areas of the painting away from traditional realism, whether that be through an expansive minimal plane of colour or a dappled disintegration of form, highlighting the subject and hopefully providing the viewer a space in which to bring their own imagination. My continuing interest in the human experience, light, and the ephemeral as themes has evolved over time, leading me to turn the focus of my subject matter in recent years from the human figure to the natural world. Painting is often an artist's way of making sense of the world, and for me is an opportunity to look intensely at nature's complexity and attempt to tap into something that can speak of a deeper experience. Simultaneously fleeting and timeless, powerful and fragile, it is a constant source of inspiration to me. I enjoy combining the close, intimate observation of still-life, with the metamorphosising ever changing world of the elemental living landscape. Studying the large patterns and compositions nature creates, against the small forms of organic growth, I attempt to capture something of the profound natural poetry to be found in these fractal arrangements. Harmony and beauty meet decay and renewal, held in a stillness which ultimately becomes uprooted by the cyclical surge of time. Sections of the garden become suspended in space and time in my work, flowers sometimes floating in a dreamscape that is not quite day or night. I enjoy including birds and insects, such as moths, as references to nature's extraordinary intelligence and fragility. Ultimately my work is a conversation in which I endeavour to share the hope, magic and interconnectedness I see in the quiet spaces of the natural world all around me.”