BIO

My studio space is a conservatory, attached to the back of the family home and opening onto an enclosed garden, nestled within our smallholding. My art practice, like my studio, is directly connected to family and everyday life of living immersed in nature. The vibrant and continually shifting garden is a constant source of inspiration for my practice, with overlooked or decaying plants frequently becoming my subject matter. 

The close connection I feel to both my subject and media is vital to my practice. Soft pastels provide an immediacy and tactility which is often mirrored through the subjects I choose to depict. The pastel medium also offers interesting parallels with nature, with the pigments and clay binder sharing a close relationship to the earth and the dust produced during my drawing process reminiscent of pollen. 

Control, or the relinquish of control, significantly influences the outcomes of my work. Similar to the gardener who attempts to control the garden by planting, trimming, and weeding, inevitably creating a work of composition, the majority of my work also requires high levels of control and concentration. The work evolves over a period of time, from days to weeks. Similarly, the garden is never static, changing and developing with each passing moment. I am interested in capturing a suspended moment in time through my work, whilst simultaneously highlighting the transience of time. 

My work frequently explores the process of decay and deterioration, investigating and challenging conventional notions of beauty and the concept of the garden as a man-made or artificial space. Giovanni Aloi writes; “decay is the aesthetic dimension external to the garden” (2019), highlighting the common belief that decay negatively impacts the gardens visual appeal. Living in a rural farming area, my family are surrounded by decay and inevitable death, something that is often avoided. My work offers contemplation of these themes, for both me as the artist during the sustained drawing process, and for viewers engaging with the work. 

My work is not just a reflection of the garden but an ongoing dialogue with it, embracing both its vitality, deterioration, and unpredictability. Through this dialogue, I explore the intertwined cycles of life and decay, revealing the beauty in these moments. My work is an invitation to pause and witness the subtle, often unnoticed transformations that shape the garden, and to reconsider our relationship with nature.