BIOGRAPHY
I have loved to draw all my life. As a young child I had a passion for horses. (In fact my Dad bought me one when I was only four - I think he feared for my anatomy as I would be forever riding bare-back on his Clydesdales). So I drew them, all over the place. I wasn’t alone in this since my mother is a very talented artist and we now spend many hours together, painting away whilst sorting out the world.
I attended Sacred Heart College in Wanganui, New Zealand where Sister Vincent taught me the rudiments of painting with oils and drawing with charcoals. I enjoyed both these mediums but it wasn’t until I went to live in England in the mid 1960’s that I purchased a set of Windsor and Newton oil paints and started to paint again. I missed my Saluki in New Zealand so painted her first before trying to capture some of the beautiful scenery of the United Kingdom. I also dabbled a little with charcoal drawings.
When I returned to New Zealand I gave my mother my box of oil paints and watched as she developed her talent. She had attended workshops run by our own “Monet of the Pacific” Randall Froude – and suggested I attend one with her. This I did and was very glad of it as Randall taught me to be bold and free, not to paint small but to enjoy putting oil paint onto canvas. He showed me how to paint quickly which meant I could complete a painting in days or weeks rather than in months or even years!
I grew to love painting the beautiful scenery of New Zealand, the lakes, the mountains, the bush, the spectacular beauty of our glorious land. I still take great pleasure in capturing in oils the sheer grandeur of our remarkable country.
Margaret Scott in Oakura showed me how to paint in Acrylics. That was such fun because the paint dried so quickly, completely different to the patience required in oils.
I had developed a love for painting the big cats but was always frustrated that I couldn’t get the detail I so wanted. One day at a dog show in Auckland I watched Suzy Kirkaldy capturing the faces of some of the breeds at the show and realised this was the medium I had sought to enable me to draw the kind of detail I so wanted to achieve. Suzy very generously came to Taranaki and ran a two day workshop for 12 of us and I fell in love with the chalk pastel.
Now I paint when I can, draw when I can and do this as much as I can often in the company of my Mum. Between us we have sent our paintings and drawings to various parts of the world and have experienced what it is like to be commissioned artists.
I am honoured to be able to share the talent God has given me so as to bring pleasure to those that enjoy my art.
Click on the painting subjects you wish to see
A Selection of Animal (and Bird) Portraits & Others