I was born in England in 1943 at Windrush Farm in Minsterlovel, Oxfordshire.  My Dad was a farmer and my love of horses must surely have come from him.  He would put up on the giant shire horses before I could walk.  We moved to Australia in 1947 where Dad continued to farm amonst other things.  I always had horses and other animals and much preferred them to dolls and other girlie things.  Even as a child I liked to draw and paint.  

 

     As an adult I continued to work around cattle and horses, spending time in Western Queensland and Western Australia on cattle properties and in the Kimberley region of Western Australia where I was a bull runner.  I rode in a hundred mile endurance ride and came fifth whilst my other horse won.

 

     I really didn't begin to be a serious artist until I was in my late fifties when I started painting.  I had been a potter for a few years as was teaching pottery in a men'ss prison is far north Queensland.  It was neccessary to get some sort of qualification to be able to teach at TAFE colleges so I enrolled in a Deploma of Visual Arts and actually go a job teaching at Mt Isa TAFE before I finished the Diploma.  I did finish and went on to work at TAFE for several years, working in remote areas of the Gulf, Doomadgee, Burketown, Normanton and Camooweal.  

 

     As the only art teacher for the Mt Isa TAFE with a footprint covering all of Western Queensland I had to gain new skills very quickly and soon became proficient in Silk Screen printing, silk painting and fabric dyeing.  I loved working with the Aboriginal people of the Gulf and was adopted into one of the tribes which was a huge honour.

 

     Since retiring from TAFE I have continued to run workshops around Queensland and North New South Wales.

 

     These days I concentrate mainly on entering exhibitions and mounting my own exhibitions.  I have added other forms of art to my repertoire including, wood carving, mosaics, felt making and am now working on a series of lamps using china and industrial cast offs for the bases with hand made shades.  I like to do things "outside the box" and am always looking for a new way to approach my work, it keeps things from getting stale.  I have never been one to stick by the rules which in the past has seen me flying a bit close to the wind.

 

I love all things outback.