“I trained as a textile designer and worked for seven years designing commercial textiles. The colour palettes were restricted and the design briefs uninspiring so, by way of escape, I began to paint rich, opulent pictures, rich in colour, texture and pattern.

“I am a great collector of treasures - be it beads, threads, ribbons, pieces of fabric, really anything small and shiny! I collect images in much the same way and my paintings are often a patchwork of ideas and details that I’ve drawn in my sketchbooks or photographed. I love to bring out elements of pattern in a landscape - things like rows of stones, tiles, railings, guttering painted interesting colours. The landscapes never show people, but the washing, the bunting and the gardens make the places look lived in and loved.”