As a visual artist I have pursued my career in the Arts over 40 years through a many-and-varied approach. I trained at Newcastle Polytechnic in Creative Arts, specialising in ceramics. This was followed by a MBA at Durham University and finally an MA in Contemporary Fine Art at the Institute of the Arts, University of Cumbria. Since giving up 3D ceramic work in the mid-nineties I have returned to painting and it’s many attendant 2D art forms – pastel, acrylic, watercolour, photography, film, collage and printmaking. A patchwork life has led me to mix different media together in my work to produce images of juxtaposition and contrast. The challenge of putting together differing elements can cause both maker and viewer to re-think their expectations of a single, well-understood form. Living on the Galloway coast I spend time walking the countryside and beach. I love the tidal rhythms of the Solway coast and how the familiar can be changed at different times of day, week and month by the presence or absence of water or the shifting of sand and mud. I am also drawn by the detail a camera can record for later examination – something we rarely have time to do during normal outdoor activities.