Lots of stuff in my head – all the time. So my art can’t be complex or cluttered.

Born in Glasgow, spent most of my life there. 5 years in London then I retired to Hove. After nearly 40 years of office routine, suddenly I have time to make Art.

Art Foundation course at in Brighton Met (2014 – 2016), several short drawing and painting courses   (2016 -17) in London, then a Fine Art MA at Northbrook in Worthing (2017 – 2022). 

Since graduating, my art practice changes and develops. A passion for colour and paint. I experiment with various mediums and surfaces and at the moment I mostly play with collage. I love Japanese washi paper, painting, staining and layering.

Objects become straight lines, geometric shapes, colours clearly defined. In paintings and collages I move from representational to abstraction, but the recent Caravan Shop mural in Glasgow echoes the shapes of the objects in the wine bar.

Photographs of places inspire. I visit Japan, and I try to capture something of the shapes and colours of that very particular country.

Influences range from the abstract Concrete artists in Brazil in the 1960s (Helio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape), through artists working at the same time in St Ives in Cornwall (Barbara Hepworth, Patrick Heron, Wilhelmina Barns Graham) to contemporary artists like Hanne Borchgrevink in Norway and Gary Hume in the UK. All of these – and too many others to mention – are experts in abstracting from the physical entity.

But my favourite artist is Rembrandt van Rijn. He has been top for ever, I think.

Tokyo Diner 2023
CV

Education

2017 – 2022              BA (Hons First Class A*) Fine Art, University of Brighton

2014 – 2016              UAL Foundation Art & Design, City College, Brighton

1970 – 1975              MA (Hons) French & German, Glasgow University

Award

June 2022                 Runner Up, Best in Show, Creative Industries, BMet College

Selected Group Exhibitions

July 2025                   Atelier, Brighton

December 2024        TeaCoffeeTequila, Oxmarket, Chichester

December 2023        Sussex Open 23 exhibition, Worthing Museum & Art Gallery

August 2022             Emotion and Expression, Skyway Gallery, Shoreham

May 2018                  Brighton Open House exhibition, “Art at No 7”

May 2017                  Brighton Open House exhibition, “Art at No 7”

May 2016                  Brighton Open House exhibition, “Art at No 7”

May 2015                  “Murmurations” Onca, Brighton

Employment

1975 – 2014              Senior Adviser with Inland Revenue, later HMRC

Trusteeships

2014 – current          Flat Time House, arts organisation after artist John Latham

2017 – 2023              The Hummingbird Refugee Project,

2004 – 2009              Tabula Rasa, Scottish contemporary dance company

1998 – 2003              Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow

Degree Show 2022