I have always been affected by colour, particularly the colours of the countryside. As a child, my grandmother taught me a love of nature and its colours, but my artistic attempts were not nurtured at school, and it was not until much later that I began to paint seriously.

Wherever I am, walking the countryside near home or travelling, my sketching equipment is with me. I spend just a few minutes on each sketch to grab the essence of the scene - they are not meant to be works of art.

A bonus of even just a few minutes sketching is that you become fully aware of the scene, not just of what you see but the sounds and smells too. Another bonus is the people I meet, some who stay to chat, tell me about the place or guide me to more views. All of this adds up to making sketches more evocative than photographs.

Back at home I use these sketches and my memories to create paintings full of colour harking back to where I have been. I work mostly in watercolour, because, in my mind, there is nothing like how light glows through them. I also enjoy adding inks, pastels, various texture making media, and incorporating collage. On days when I can’t think what to paint or where to start I will spend time ‘playing’ with paint effects. What will happen if I use .......? - then wait to see what the results suggest.

I run regular art classes and occasional workshops in my area of Devon, and I sell my work at exhibitions, art fairs and other venues. There are examples of my work in collections locally and further afield, as far as New York, Uganda, Canada and Australia.