I make art as a way of engaging with natural things, that I love and want to know or understand better. At least that’s the idea. Often what happens is that my contemplative engagement with these things, through drawing, deepens their mystery, opens new worlds I haven’t seen or noticed before. When I was learning to draw, we were often told not to worry too much about the detail, to concentrate instead on the form, the structure of things. Now I find that it is the details precisely, that pull me in, fill my mind and foster my longed for connection with these things. My practice is presently focused on drawing and occasionally writing. It involves lots of walking, breathing, listening, running my hands over things, sketching and making photographs to work from back in the studio.

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I worked as a lecturer in fine art / contemporary art practice at Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University and also Moray School of Art, University of the Highlands and Islands, for around 25 years. Over this time I came to the realisation that while techniques can be taught, supporting people to develop their own practice is a quite different matter. I believe that the latter depends on a non-hierarchical relationship which nurtures the growth of another and their trust in their developing processes. This model of ‘teaching’ is a reciprocal and contemplative learning exchange but one that I found difficult to sustain within the evolving models of higher education.

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I gained a COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills at Strathclyde University in 2023 and will complete a Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling, through Therapy Train Stirling, in 2026. Currently I work in social care at a small scale facility for people with complex care needs. I am a passionate gardener, sometimes. I am based in Cardross on the beautiful Firth of Clyde.