Although my personal work centres around the landscape, I am absolutely passionate about Life Drawing and Teaching it.
I had wanted to attend artschool everysince I was about 6 years old but wasn't permitted to when I was16 so I went into office work, which, at the time, I have to admit, I enjoyed.
I gave up work after my children, James and Rebecca, were born in order to be a full time 'stay at home' mum and bring them up; a priviledge that unfortunately, not many parents are able to experience these days. When my daughter was about a year old I made an appointment to see the then course leader at Ipswich School of Art and Design, having decided that when she started school, I wanted be be able to start Art School, therefore fulfilling my life-long dream.
I took along quite a large selection of paintings, drawings and photographs of work that I'd done on motorcycle tanks and asked whether this would be sufficient to get me a place in 3 years time when my daughter would start school. I was told that the best thing I could be advised to do, was to attend weekly life drawing sessions. So that is what I did.
At that time, as many of us do, I felt that I was able to draw, and paint but attending these classes along with more experienced artists, I realised that I still had an awful lot to learn. After a year had passed, I felt that I was not improving and mentioned this to the tutor, explaining to him that I desperately wanted to be accepted onto a full time course. He promptly gave me an A1 sheet of newsprint and a piece of charcoal, told me to sit on the floor infront of the model and draw his portrait. Ka-BOOOM!!!! That was it, I was off and I never looked back!
I successfully enroled on a 2 year General Art & Design course in 1994, when I was 32. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to finally be in the Ipswich School of Art & Design building on High Street, that I had cycled past so many times, longing to be able to one day, be amongst the students that studied there.
As part of the course, we had a full day life drawing session every week, which I absolutely loved, and my skills continued to improve; during that time, I also continued to attend the evening class, my mum babysitting my two children as by then, I was divorced and a single parent.
Life Drawing you see, is what got me into Art School, allowing me to fulfill my life-long dream which I feared would always remain that... a dream. After completing the two year G.A.D. course, I went on to achieve an upper 2nd class honours degree in Fine Art, Painting and an M.A. in the same at Norwich School of Art & Design, what is now called NUA .
Art is my passion but learning to draw through attending Life Drawing Classes is what gave me opportunities that I've had, that to be honest, I really never would have dreamt of being possible.
I firmly believe that if you can draw the human form, then you can draw anything. And YES, I do believe it is possible to learn and be taught, but you have to put the time in!
I had wanted to attend artschool everysince I was about 6 years old but wasn't permitted to when I was16 so I went into office work, which, at the time, I have to admit, I enjoyed.
I gave up work after my children, James and Rebecca, were born in order to be a full time 'stay at home' mum and bring them up; a priviledge that unfortunately, not many parents are able to experience these days. When my daughter was about a year old I made an appointment to see the then course leader at Ipswich School of Art and Design, having decided that when she started school, I wanted be be able to start Art School, therefore fulfilling my life-long dream.
I took along quite a large selection of paintings, drawings and photographs of work that I'd done on motorcycle tanks and asked whether this would be sufficient to get me a place in 3 years time when my daughter would start school. I was told that the best thing I could be advised to do, was to attend weekly life drawing sessions. So that is what I did.
At that time, as many of us do, I felt that I was able to draw, and paint but attending these classes along with more experienced artists, I realised that I still had an awful lot to learn. After a year had passed, I felt that I was not improving and mentioned this to the tutor, explaining to him that I desperately wanted to be accepted onto a full time course. He promptly gave me an A1 sheet of newsprint and a piece of charcoal, told me to sit on the floor infront of the model and draw his portrait. Ka-BOOOM!!!! That was it, I was off and I never looked back!
I successfully enroled on a 2 year General Art & Design course in 1994, when I was 32. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to finally be in the Ipswich School of Art & Design building on High Street, that I had cycled past so many times, longing to be able to one day, be amongst the students that studied there.
As part of the course, we had a full day life drawing session every week, which I absolutely loved, and my skills continued to improve; during that time, I also continued to attend the evening class, my mum babysitting my two children as by then, I was divorced and a single parent.
Life Drawing you see, is what got me into Art School, allowing me to fulfill my life-long dream which I feared would always remain that... a dream. After completing the two year G.A.D. course, I went on to achieve an upper 2nd class honours degree in Fine Art, Painting and an M.A. in the same at Norwich School of Art & Design, what is now called NUA .
Art is my passion but learning to draw through attending Life Drawing Classes is what gave me opportunities that I've had, that to be honest, I really never would have dreamt of being possible.
I firmly believe that if you can draw the human form, then you can draw anything. And YES, I do believe it is possible to learn and be taught, but you have to put the time in!