Just An Artist

Finding my place as an artist….

I’ve always been a creative sort and paint brushes have featured heavily in my life. Every type of brush, from a gilders tip, badger softeners and fine little sables. However I’ve spent the last four years making and designing jewellery in silver and gold. It’s a job I love, but in the last year and a half I’ve re-discovered the joy of painting.

It was the jewellery that led me back to it. I was painting little pictures to use as props for my jewellery photographs and suddenly remembered just how much I loved wielding a paintbrush.

The paintings were fairly simple to begin with, just quick little images to use as props, like this little cat. Then they started to get a little more intricate.

I then discovered botanical painting. I’ve always admired vintage botanical prints but didn’t consider that I could create anything like that myself…it just didn’t enter my head.  Then serendipity made me stumble upon an online tutorial by Anna Mason (you can find her website HERE) and I’ve hardly put down my brush since.

My background in antique restoration has given me an eye for little details and I love intricate designs. I specialised in japanning and chinoiserie. Pieces which required thousands of strokes of gold and ink and lots of patience. This is one of my past pieces, excuse the poor photos. It was plain wood when it arrived. I’d have taken more care with the photos if I’d know it would one day be in a blog post!

Some of my favourite jewellery designs are covered in miniature details too.

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So the progression to intricate paintings was probably inevitable.

I live in a rural part of Somerset, it’s flora and fauna inspire me daily and it rubs off on my designs.  Like this Large Blue Butterfly, which was once extinct in Britain, but is now happily living in Somerset.

I had a little battle with myself about whether I was I was a jewellery designer or a painter. And then I realised that I’m just an artist, working in different mediums. One day paint and one day metal. It’s a contrast I love.

However I think to do both justice they need their own platforms, hence two different websites. If you’d like to follow along on my day to day doings, you can find me on Instagram. Jewellery here and Paintings here.

The jewellery shop is up and running and has been for a few years, but the painting shop is still in the making. It’ll be coming soon with original works of art, fine art prints and eventually some other lovely things.

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