I work from home in Mansfield Woodhouse in Nottinghamshire, just a few miles from the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest.


Sketching has always come naturally to me and has been a joy. I remember drawing on every available piece of paper at a very early age - which got me into trouble at times! I loved Art at school and started experimenting with colour - watercolours and poster paints mainly. Watercolour is a lovely medium but unforgiving. Not many of my watercolour artwork survived that period as I had become a bit of a perfectionist.


I fell in love with pastels later and enjoyed that medium for a time and then was introduced to acrylic paints and I was immediately hooked! The vibrant colours took my breath away and being able to water the paint down for washes and to be able to lay it on thickly for texture added a new dimension to my artwork. Furthermore, the rapid drying quality of acrylic paint offered the opportunity for several layers to be added. However, the most exciting part of the medium for me was suddenly being able to paint a light colour onto a dark colour! This eliminated any chance of me being unhappy with the finished artwork as I could continue painting until I felt completely satisfied with the final product! Bliss!


I share my home with my workaholic husband and have four wonderful children - three daughters, Jemma, Joanna and Charlotte and one son, Alex, who has classic autism and profound learning difficulties. I have had relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis for 20 years now - luckily I am mostly well. I organise my day so that I work hard in the mornings, when energy levels are good, and then take things at a much slower pace in the afternoons. I have a limited amount of energy each day and must not overdo things! (Trouble is, when I feel well, it is tempting do a little more!)


We also have a four year old Maltese dog, Bella and one fish called Sylvie (take a look at our family photos to put faces to the names).