|
I was born in 1960, the only sister with three brothers. After being educated
privately I went to Aberdeen University gaining a Masters degree in Art History.
When I was 5 years old my father showed me a Bellini Deposition, showing
Christ being removed from the cross and held by his mother. It was a very
powerful and shocking moment; the painting was tragic and quite horrific.
Up until then I had seen pretty paintings of flowers and fairies
and things that small children generally see.
 It
was seeing this Deposition that showed me how powerful painting can be.
It was from that first encounter with Bellini that I knew I would be a
painter.
My first love has always been the Italian Renaissance, especially the
early religious frescoes. Apart from their natural brilliance, I am fascinated
by the use if contemporary fourteenth and fifteenth century faces in crowd
scenes and the attempts at Flemish realism, landscapes and perspectives.
My
interest in the Renaissance artists led to profound interests in religious
icons. There seemed to be similarity of style and content between the
early works of the Italian fourteenth century (Giotto for example) and
the masters of Russian and Greek icons. I am also aware of the profound
spiritual content of icons, the prayer and contemplation that has gone
into each stage of the painting.
Over the years I have painted many different subjects, and developed
my own style. I have kept in mind the love of Icons and the early Italian
Renaissance, and concentrated on becoming my own artist. I use colour,
humour, wit and fun. My paintings are a celebration with humour, of certain
times and positions in life. I encourage patrons to add
personal details that tell a story so that the paintings can be read and
are not just a portrait. My works are colourful, personalised, relevant
and joyful representations whether it is for a family, an individual or
persons; an exact snapshot in time of how they would like to be remembered.
|
