I moved up to the Highlands of Scotland with my parents in 1993, at the age of ten. We went from life in the Deep South (Kent) to life in the Highlands. I had known this part of the world when I was even younger, when we would come on holiday here. Even then I had fallen in love with the scenery and the pace of life here.

I attended Plockton High School as a teenager, and studied…..music, not art! But I always dabbled with anything creative. I always had paints from a young age, and loved sketching with pencils. As I got older I made my own jewellery, and used photographs to make my own cards for people. I worked in an art and craft shop from the age of 21, and so was surrounded by creativity, and lots of inspiration. Having battled with mental health problems for years, art became a form of escape - a silence for my mind that I could get lost in. It was during one of these times that I picked up brushes for the first time in years, and started to paint. Not long after, I was ready for big changes in my life, and was offered the opportunity of taking on Patterns of Light. The business had been started by Mike and Jenny Turner - Jenny being the artist. I had spent many hours with her in the shop in Kishorn. Sadly she passed away in 2012, and at the end of the following year Patterns of Light was looking for someone to take it on….and so Mike offered me the opportunity!

At the start of 2014 I became a self employed sole trader of my own art and crafts shop. I loved it! I had my own studio space to explore and develop my own creativity. I discovered a love for acrylic paints - bold colours, highlighted with metallic and iridescent paint to create light and movement in my paintings. A couple of years down the line I also started painting slates and pebbles, mostly with local scenes. Taking on commission work at this point too. Painting on a piece of slate is so enjoyable - there is a texture it adds to any painting, and it works so well as a back drop for sunrises and sunsets.

Come the end of 2018 I had started to experiment with watercolour inks, and mixed media techniques. This led me to start a series of very different work throughout 2019, inspired by all things from the sea. I started painting in circles, something I find so balanced and pleasing to the eye.

I have always produced my own cards using my artwork, and also my own prints. But I decided to think about other things - mugs, coasters, tea towels, chopping boards, jewellery, cushions, clocks….. Why purchase these items from other people to sell, when I could create designs myself? And so over the last 5 years or so I have built up a product line with all these things. Some using my paintings of land and seascapes, and then also using my “Of the Sea” series of work. I even developed my own way of creating jewellery.

After much soul searching by 2019 I knew it was time to consider the next big change. Business had been tough for a couple of seasons, I felt stressed and unhappy, and therefore unable to create the work I wanted to. So I have decided to change direction slightly. I want to keep producing my own work and my own products, but without the stress of overheads, ordering other stock, invoices, paperwork, commuting….. so time to downsize and refocus. I have passed the shop on to other capable hands in 2020, and the plan is to grow and develop the side of my business that I truly love. The focus for Patterns of Light being on producing more unique artwork, and in turn new products for home, as gifts, and as accessories! But doing this from the sanctuary of my own home. Please join me on this journey…..