I grew up in the south of England, where I'm told I decided at age 3 that I wanted to be a vet. From a similar age a innate urge to draw developed - art class was always my favourite and my attention to small details in my drawings always drew comments from family and teachers. As I progressed through school I gradually had to focus more on science and maths in order to meet the entry requirements for vet school, and with sadness I did not take art further than GCSE. All through vet school I would find disproportionate pleasure in anatomical sketches and diagrams, or doodling animals on my lecture notes (and sometimes the table... shh!). However, time was a very thinly stretched resource in this period of my life, and art patiently took a back seat.

After graduation time did not seem to be any more available, and my only creative output was the annual Christmas card where I went all in. In March 2020 we were locked down, and at last I had nothing but time. I scrambled around to find my art supplies, and the oil painting materials that I bought in a moment of optimism but never used. For the next 5 months I dedicated myself to learning how to use these tricky paints, and via a lot of frustration, mess, doubt and mistakes I fell completely in love with the medium.

Since then art has re-entered my life in a big way, and days spent at the easel are my happy place. I am naturally drawn to painting animals, as I have all my life, but the subject that gives me the most pleasure is wildlife, and the extraordinary wild spaces of our planet. Throughout my veterinary career I have had the immense pleasure of travelling the world to work with all kinds of animals, and I want to share those experiences with paint. Wild animals are innately beautiful, but nothing beats seeing them thriving in their natural environment.