Have you always been a visual artist, or how did you start out?

I started painting around the age of nine, studying subject matter such as landscapes and scenery. Due to problems with hand control, caused by my Cerebral Palsy, I began to paint using my head. I continued to paint with my head until I was studying for exams and realised that I needed much more detail than I was able to achieve my work. Although I had tried using my hands before and had found it frustrating, I persevered and realised that I could get a different kind of detail or texture in my work.

After completing a Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, I studied a BDes Degree in Design and Communication at the University of Ulster. While studying at university I began painting again using my hands, this time embracing my involuntary movements by bringing them into my work instead of fighting against them. Working predominantly on large canvases meant I found an abstract style that lent itself to my movements. I could be expressive with paint!

After graduating I concentrated more on Graphic Design, as it was all about detail and precision whereas painting was the polar opposite; for this very reason, I love them both! I worked for 3 years as a Freelance Graphic Designer until a visit to Australia when my love of painting was reignited! When I arrived back home in 2012 I chose to pursue a full-time career as a Visual Artist. Facing the daunting task of being rejected from every Gallery, as my work was unknown in the Art World, I took a different approach; I began exhibiting at Art Fairs, and within five months I had work being shown in four Galleries and was offered Art Representation with DegreeArt, London in September 2012.

In February 2013, I completed an Art Residency in Hobart, Tasmania. This led to a Solo Exhibition in Melbourne, which allowed my husband and I to relocate to Australia for a year. I was selected for eight Exhibitions and commissioned to create the set design for Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2013. We returned home to Northern Ireland in 2014, and inspired by our travels, opened Haptik – a Coffee Bar & Contemporary Artspace: an inclusive space for Artists, Designers, Creative Makers & Photographers to come together.

What is your favourite medium to work with and why?

I use Acrylic on Canvas, this is my favourite of all mediums! As an Artist, I fall in love with paint every time I use it. For me, the paint is what it’s all about. Taking that first stroke of explosive colour onto a clean, stark-white canvas is a juxtapose moment, daunting and terrifying but yet an adrenaline, supercharged climax which never fails to excite. My work is inspired not by who but by what, focusing on the paint itself as the subject, I’m obsessed by colour and texture. I work in layers, using a thick Impasto technique but with no medium added to the paint. I usually build layer after layer, often allowing the paint to dry before applying another layer. I use extremely large round brushes, wetting them only at the beginning, and never using water during the painting process, as I must keep the colours as vivid as possible. I use two/three/four colours on the brush at one time, as thick as a palette knife. I believe colour was invented to nourish our visual palate and intensify our existence. In my opinion, a world in black and white is a world of no purpose. This being said, one criticism I am asked about is my extravagant use of white paint. I make no apologies for this, as it is only when we have the negative, that the colour is reflected and magnified, and shown in all its splendour.

What inspires your themes and subjects?

My creative process focuses on communicating feelings and emotions through large abstract works. My work is without subject matter and results in each piece evoking different emotions in the individual viewer. The viewer cannot pinpoint an image as that of a landscape or still-life, they have to look within themselves for the answer. Do they see an answer in the painting or a reflection of a subconscious feeling with no words to describe it? There is no right or wrong answer. My paintings offer open-ended possibilities where people see a connection between themselves and the Artwork. Through the use of colour and texture, I believe that Artistic self-expression contributes to maintenance and reconstruction of a positive identity. The world of Abstraction holds the key to allowing our subconscious a method of release! My pieces are inspired by this beautiful world of Abstraction. The more I paint, reality starts to dissipate and my artistic subconscious takes over. I am taken into another world, full of possibility and creativity, where worries and tribulations dissolve into reasoning and infinite positivity.

Preferring the work to visually speak for itself, it is important to understand that everyone acquires something different from the same painting, as the paint, colours, textures all evoke various emotions in people; it’s all about personal experience and making a connection with the painting. Each painting is an unforeseen journey which the artist and the viewer embark upon, both encountering different experiences. I prefer to be seen as an Artist first and foremost; my disability is always secondary, it does not define me, although I’m not naive as to believe that it has not had a dramatic impression on my artistic style and an advantage in some Art opportunities. I see myself not as an inspiration, but hope my work inspires.

As my work encompasses emotions, I take inspiration from all around me, the colours in the sky, the winter season on the turn into spring as we await the beautiful floral blooms which come like an enchanted forest pulling us out of a dreary winter into a bright summer season! I see a certain colour in a scarf, or the folds of fabric as the light hits it. Other senses influence my thought process, particularly music, a song will provide its own visual accompaniment. Everyday ordinary things will become extraordinary in a split second, I’ll see something and in that moment, I must paint. Often I’ll have a dream, which involves explosions of colours, this will fuel an idea.

All my Artworks are greatly influenced by the genius that is Jackson Pollock, he laid the groundbreaking footprints of Abstract Art. How brave he must have been to go against the norm? At the time people thought he was insane, but in actual fact he was daring and inspirational, and without him Abstract Art would simply not be. Many Artists have inspired me in various ways over the years. I love the juxtapose meanings of Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte, intriguing and captivating. One of my favourites is Claude Monet, I adore his use of colour and always wish to be consumed by his paintings. In recent years, the innovative beauty of Kerrie Warren’s and Michael Bond’s work has hugely inspired me. I love to have a sense of freedom and movement in my work, without conformities.

Do you always have an emotional connection with each of your pieces?

Yes, but no. I believe when I paint and let go, I create better work! ‘At A Loss For Words’ exhibition was a show for my personal self. I didn't think it would have a commercial appeal, so I was so surprised by the response, and truly overwhelmed by it!

What does colour mean to you?

Everything! I must keep the colours as vivid as possible. I believe colour was invented to nourish our visual palate and intensify our existence. In my opinion, a world in black and white is a world of no purpose. This being said, one criticism I am asked about is my extravagant use of white paint. I make no apologies for this, as it is only when we have the negative, that the colour is reflected and magnified, and shown in all its’ splendour.

What do you feel your latest body of work, 'At a loss for words', has accomplished?

Oh my, when I sat in my studio, I really didn't feel people would connect with the work. It was from a very personal place, and a very dark place! I could not have been more wrong. I think the minute you put a voice to an issue, people feel okay to talk about it! I received emails, messages all from people who related, maybe not to the topic, but to the emotion & openness. Truly incredible, I think it makes some people think more. If I managed to change one person perceptions and encourage them to listen, and they tell one person, well then that is how change comes about! 


What is your advice to students who wish to explore more Abstract concepts within Art?

Work with what you love and what you know! Be open to criticism, evaluate and then discard what you don't need. Negative energy is unproductive! Just do it, don't procrastinate - what have you got too loose! When you figure this out, please tell me the secret?

What are your creative ambitions for the future?

I would like to produce more prints of my work, with the hope to make my work affordable to everyone! I hope to find a place to display Absolutely Floored (the horizontal piece), in an environment for the Visually Impaired! I can’t wait to create new work, on a totally different topic - think superficial colour!