I was brought up in a very creative ‘Bohemian’ household . My father was an artist, who established a highly successful business, sculpting and manufacturing model soldiers. Under his guidance, I learned about handling paint, colour mixing and attention to detail at a very early age. My mother was an artists model and many creative friends of my parents would visit. Often left to my own devices in our ramshackle and rundown house by the Thames, I learned to entertain myself and that has stayed with me. Certainly not a conventional upbringing by any stretch of the imagination!

Since then, I have always been involved in creative work: painting, ceramics and as an artists’ model myself.

Having painted on canvas for many years, I discovered working on wood around eight years ago and have not looked back. Each piece is a ready made landscape. I take the wood, see the landscape presented and paint what I feel is appropriate for the wood. A habitat for a wild and beautiful animal.

Whilst many of the creatures I paint are British, I am increasingly inspired by the Arctic and by Norse legends.

The wood is all found, discarded or donated. Some pieces hundreds of years old. Whilst the animals could possibly be painted again, each piece of wood is unique with its own history. This means every piece is a complete one off!

I have exhibited my work at various galleries and events, including Wylye Valley Art Trail; Fisherton Mill, Salisbury; Dorset Art Weeks; Shaftesbury Art Centre; First View Gallery, Stourhead: The Art Agency Gallery, Esher, John Leach, Somerset .

More work including NEW, older work and sold pieces, can be seen on my Facebook page.