About
About
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My art practice combines collage, painting and mixed media techniques to depict real, imagined and abstract landscapes. My aim is to take you into the parts of nature the human eye skims over - the understory where tiny worlds thrive, the hidden haunts of wild birds, the secret oases of nature in cities, the incidental urban gardens, the explosion of a seed-burst. I am an environmental artist making my work to have a direct connection to the devastating impact of human activity on nature.
Some of my work focuses on wetlands - where water meets sky - evoking the mood, atmosphere, weather, flora and fauna of marshes and wild places. I have developed a relationship with the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT); growing my understanding of the essential contribution wetland spaces make to carbon capture, and to rebuilding our wildlife sanctuaries and making work to support the WWT. My 2023 solo exhibition at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath was Wetland Spring.
In my work as an illustrator, I have designed numerous books. One example is The Book Of Snow, a poetry collection by Robert Seatter with cut-outs, collages and 3D collagraphs. I have worked as in-house illustrator for English Heritage for a decade; bringing humour and personality to characters and moments from history. I am the author of the best-selling book, The Art of Papercutting (Search Press) a monograph on my paper art over seven years.
I am also the creator of five worldwide best-selling colouring books which have enabled people of all ages to unlock their inner artist.
I am a visiting artist and run art events at - among others - The Wallace Collection, Sir John Soane Museum, British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Hampton Court Palace, Arnolfini Gallery, Dulwich Picture Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Museum of London and Royal West of England Academy as a Bristol Drawing School tutor. I have been a guest artist at Bath University's The Edge centre, teaching my course for the intrepid: Drawing Life with a Knife.
EXHIBITIONS and EVENTS
2024
- RWA OPEN, Royal West of England Academy September - January 2025
- MY SUMMER OPEN STUDIO, 7 St Mark's Road, Bath, 22 & 23 June
- Art in Bloom, Liberation Art Gallery, Brighton
- Summertime, Freshford Galleries
- Bath Society of Artists, Victoria Art Gallery
- Wetland Spring, Victoria Art Gallery
2022
- Summer Exhibition, Atelier Brighton
- Waterfields Show, The Other Art Fair, London
2021
- London Wetland Centre, London
- In the Meanwhile, Bath
- Re-imagining Nature, Somerset Art Works
- The Cutting Edge, Matisse and Contemporary Paper Artists, Penrith
- In Pursuit of Spring, Black Swan Arts
- Independent Bath, painting display at RUH, Bath
- Why Do Objects Matter, paper sculptures for Stourhead National Trust
2020
- Bath City Farm, collage celebrating 25th anniversary, Bath
2019
- Paper Play, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Devon
- Forest of the Future Window Mural for Forest of Imagination, Holburne Museum, Bath Floral Collages, The Compton Gallery, Gloucestershire
- Paper Garden, The Garden Museum, London
2018
- Paper Maze for the Forest of Imagination, Bath Riverside open air
- Mr B’s Reading Tree exhibit and residency, Bath
- Roots & Herbs exhibit, Chandos, Bath
2017
- Giant Spider Mama for the Forest of Imagination
- Mrs Henry Lyte and a Paper Garden for Lytes Carey NT
2016
- Orlando-inspired Tudor Paper Ruff pieces for Burberry’s The Makers’ House exhibit London
- Tyntesfield Paper Tree for the Forest of Imagination, Bath
- Bluebeard Inked Cut-outs for the Everhart Museum, USA
- Connect the Dots – a giant cutout for the Jamestown Art Centre, USA
2015
- Exhibitor of Lunar Tales paper cut for the MEAA Lunar New Year
- Window display of The 12 Dancing Princesses for Jessica Charleston Couture Giant Tangled Forest Drawn Installation for the Holburne Museum, Bath
2014
- Exhibitor in Paper Made at the Jamestown Art Centre, Rhode Island USA
- Exhibitor of paper wigs in The New Georgians at Orleans House Gallery Richmond, UK
- Featured Artist and maker of the Paper Tiger Gate for the Forest of Imagination, Bath, UK
- Exhibition of cut paper work at The Chagford Inn, Devon, UK
- Featured Artist in First Cut paper exhibition at Tudor House Museum, Southampton, UK,
- Guest Artist at Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Devon on Into Lace exhibition events