Being an 'evening and weekend' creative means I produce a limited portfolio of work each year.  To help me focus I like to pick a theme and then develop a series of works based on this.  I find this approach gives me time to fully explore a subject and try out different techiniques in each work.  

Working from my kitchen table means that space is at a premium and as a result the size of my works tend to reflect this.  My favourite format is a 30cm x 30cm square which is a direct result of discovering 12 x 12 inch scrapbooking and all of the fabulous papers that can be used for collage.

The gallery section below shares my work along with a bit of explanation around their creation. Click on a picture to get a larger image and then, if your browser doesn't display a close option, simply click back onto the greyed out page to minimise down again.

square collage series
🔴  Blazers and Boaters (2014) 

Over the last few months I have fancied a change and have been having a play and produced a new range of 'square based' collages that draw on favourite elements from my earlier work - and some images that are waiting in the wings to use.  

Can you spot where they are from?

The work is comprised of cut images that have been monoprinted then collaged onto vintage book text. The finished work is float mounted on watercolour paper.

Image size:  35cm x 15cm
Mount:  50cm x 25cm
Frame:  Solid beech

square collage series
Messing about on the Thames (2014)

Image size:  35cm x 15cm
Mount:  50cm x 25cm
Frame:  Solid beech
 

square collage series
On the Riverbank (2014)

Image size:  35cm x 15cm
Mount:  50cm x 25cm
Frame:  Solid beech

square collage series
Regatta Traffic (2014)

Image size:  35cm x 15cm
Mount:  50cm x 25cm
Frame:  Solid beech

square collage series
🔴  Marlow (2014)

Image size:  15cm x 15cm
Mount:  30cm x 35cm
Frame:  Beech veneer

square collage series
Henley (2014)

Image size:  15cm x 15cm
Mount:  30cm x 35cm
Frame:  Beech veneer

Aldeburgh IX:
"The World to us is a stormy sea" (2013)

This picture is a second new work created in October ready for  the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair. The title of the work is a line from a poem called Under the Cliffs by Mortimer Collins (1827 - 1876).

The flags on this Lowestoft boat are vintage postage stamps and the 'net' on the pebbles and the mast of the boat feature rope collected from the beach in Aldeburgh - along with some donated flotsam from a new chum, artist Joanna Atherton. 

Can you spot the Cross Keys pub in the background - fancy a pint of Adnams anyone?

Image size: 28cm x 28cm
Mount: 48cm x 48cm
Frame: White washed wood 

This image will be reproduced as a limited edition print and greeting card in 2014.

Aldeburgh IV revisited:
"O'er the ocean's haze" (2013)

This picture is a new work created in October ready for  for the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair. 

This is a much improved version of an original picture (Aldeburgh IV) I made back in 2008 and loved so much I didn't exhibit it - and it hangs my bathroom.  

The title of the work is a line from a poem called Under the Cliffs by Mortimer Collins (1827 - 1876).

The flags on Silver Harvest are vintage postage stamps and the 'net' on the pebbles features rope collected from the beach in Aldeburgh - along with some donated flotsam from a new chum, artist Joanna Atherton.
 
The seagulls stand proud of the picture - do keep a hold of your fish and chips!

Image size: 28cm x 28cm
Mount: 48cm x 48cm
Frame: White washed wood 

This image will be reproduced as a limited edition print and greeting card in 2014.

Henley Royal Regatta IX:
🔴  A Pause in the Proceedings at Phyllis Court (2013) 

This picture is the first from the 'Bucks Bank' and features a view to the 'Berks Bank' from Phyllis Court.  The gentleman's blazers feature pastel penciled stripes and are rather smart!  This was a very fiddly work to produce and it took over an hour to cut out the chairs alone. 

Image size: 28cm x 28cm
Mount: 48cm x 48cm
Frame: White washed wood 

This image will be reproduced as a limited edition print and greeting card in 2014.

Henley Royal Regatta VI:
Regatta Fashion (2013)

I enjoyed making the Henley Royal Regatta pictures so much last year and had such lovely feedback that I decided to continue exploring this iconic riverside theme again this year. This picture features my partners nephews George and Joseph checking out each others fine blazers . . .

The boys are standing on a page from the 2012 HRR programme that features team listings from the Universities they went to - a nice touch of serendipity.

Image size: 28cm x 28cm
Mount: 48cm x 48cm
Frame: White washed wood 

This image will be reproduced as a limited edition print and greetings card in due course.

Henley Royal Regatta VII:
The Quarter Mile Mark (2013)

This final picture on the 'Berks Bank' features Ben's twin niece and nephew Kat and Joey.  The lady in the foreground is wearing a dress made from a vintage map.

Image size: 28cm x 28cm
Mount: 48cm x 48cm
Frame: White washed wood

This image will be reproduced as a limited edition print and greeting card in due course.

Henley Royal Regatta VIII:
🔴  Uncle Ben Entertains (2013)

This picture features Ben's nieces Kathryn and Charlotte and George's (above) girlfriend Whitney. The trees in the background are made of a vintage map of Henley and the parasol being used on the row boat is made of stamps.

Image size: 28cm x 28cm
Mount: 48cm x 48cm
Frame: White washed wood 

This image will be reproduced as a limited edition print and greeting card in due course.

Henley Royal Regatta I:
🔴  Henley Blazers (2012) 

This is the first in a series of five mixed media collages featuring scenes from Henley Royal Regatta.  

I picked elements from the (hundreds of) photos I took at this iconic event in 2011 and then reconstructed the 'bits' that I liked back into new compositions to make a collage.  I have used traditional watercolour (sky and shadows), dry brushing (water), scrapbook papers (trees, river bank and grass) along with altered photographic elements that have been drawn / painted over and embellished in other ways following assembly.   The fine young chap on the right has a blazer that is a vintage map of Henley to give provinance to the piece.

This work was displayed at Emerald Gallery as part of Bucks Open Studios 2012 (9 - 24 June). 


The image is available as a limited edition print and greeting card.

Henley Royal Regatta II:
🔴  Henley Boaters and Blazers (2012)

This is the second in a series of five mixed media collages featuring scenes from Henley Royal Regatta. 

In this picture the trees are constructed using a vintage map of Henley and the ends of the oars are postage stamps.

This work was displayed at Emerald Gallery as part of Bucks Open Studios 2012 (9 - 24 June) and at Cookham Arts Club in 2013.


The image is available as a limited edition print and greeting card.

Henley Royal Regatta III:
🔴  The Thames Challenge Cup (2012) 

This is the third in a series of five mixed media collages featuring scenes from Henley Royal Regatta. 

In this picture the picnic blanket is a page from the 2011 Regatta Programme that was kindly given to me by the very kind lady in the antiquarian bookshop in Henley (see my Blog entry on 13 April 2012). This has been drawn over with Letraset ProMarker pens to give a plaid effect.

The girls hats and jackets have been embellished with washi tape, ribbbon and paper lace - as well as with my favourite Stickles Glitter Glue!

This work was displayed at Emerald Gallery as part of Bucks Open Studios 2012.  In 2013 I had this work remounted and professionally framed by Emerald Farming ready for the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair. 

Image size: 28cm x 28cm
Mount: 48cm x 48cm
Frame: White washed wood

It is also available as a limited edition print and greeting card.

Henley Royal Regatta IV:
🔴  Watching the Rowers (2012) 

This is the fourth in a series of five mixed media collages featuring scenes from Henley Royal Regatta. 

If you have ever walked along the river in Henley at Regatta time you will know how busy it gets. When Ben and I visited in 2011 we were quite early and one of my favourite photos from the day was the empty picnic blankets set out along to bank as 'place savers' for later on. That photo inspired this collage.

The picnic blanket at the front is a vintage map of Henley.  The stripes on the blazer were added with a pastel pencil and the ladies jacket has paper lace and glitter glue additions. Her fascinator (hat) has a feather picked up in Henley too!

This work was displayed at Emerald Gallery as part of Bucks Open Studios 2012.  In 2013 I had this work remounted and professionally framed by Emerald Farming ready for the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair. 

Image size: 28cm x 28cm
Mount: 48cm x 48cm
Frame: White washed wood

The image is available as a limited edition print and greeting card.

Henley Royal Regatta V:
🔴  The Start Enclosure (2012) 

This is the last in a series of five mixed media collages featuring scenes from Henley Royal Regatta. 

The girls frocks in this picture are collaged with text from an old book about the Thames (procured in the same lovely shop mentioned in the Thames Challenge Cup) and they are also sat on a picnic blanket that is a vintage map of Henley.

Exhibited in the Marlow Art and Crafts Society annual exhibition in 2013, The Start Enclosure was awarded 'runner up' for the Nationwide Anglia Tray (as voted for by visitors to the exhibition) - thank you!

The image is available as a limited edition print and greeting card.

🔴  Marlow Regatta (2012) 

This Marlow Regatta enclosure scene was a complex collage to produce and all of the cutting out and piecing together of the elements took a long time.

This is again a mix of traditional watercolour (sky), dry brushing (water), scrapbook papers (trees and river bank) and altered and embellished photographic elements.  The enclosure tents are collaged with a vintage map of Marlow and the background grass is text about Marlow from an old book on the Thames.

The ladies frock has layers of red petticoat netting and she has a feather from the park in Marlow in her fascinator (hat).

This work was displayed at the Marlow Art and Crafts Society Jubilee Exhibition in 2012. It is available as a limited edition print and greeting card.

🔴  Marlow Regatta: Girls and Boys (2012) 

This mixed media collage is perhaps my favourite one completed this year so far. I love the photograph I took of the girls sitting on the bank that I used for my Regatta Girls digital collages in 2009 and wanted to reuse this element in a physical collage.

My starting photograph of the rowers had a bit of a gory transformation in that the boys 'heads' were removed and replaced with pictures of Ben's nephews and family friends - to have their cheeky faces looking at the girls on the riverbank really makes me smile!

The girls frocks are individually collaged and embellished with a watercolour shadow added on the riverbank for definition at the end.

This work was displayed at the Marlow Art and Crafts Society Jubilee Exhibition in 2012. It is available as a limited edition print and greeting card.

🔴  Aldeburgh V (2011) 

First in a series of four mixed media collages produced of boats on the beach in Aldeburgh in Suffolk on the east coast of England.

This is one of my favourite places in the UK and the featured boat, Silver Harvest is one I have literally hundreds of photographs of - I just LOVE the orange and turquise colour combination!

The flags are vintage postage stamps; the medley of threads and fibres portraying the ropes on the 'pebbles' include found fishing line from the beach in Aldeburgh and the net floats are wooden beads - and true mixed media delight!

This image is available as a limited edition print or greeting card.

🔴  Aldeburgh VI (2011) 

Second in a series of four mixed media collages produced of boats on the beach in Aldeburgh , Suffolk.

Exhibited in the Marlow Art and Crafts Society annual exhibition in July, Aldeburgh VI was awarded the Nationwide Anglia Tray (voted favourite picture in show by visitors to the exhibition).

Vintage beer bottle lables were used this work and the medley of threads on the pebbles again includes found rope fibres from the beach in Aldeburgh.

This image is available as a limited edition print or greeting card.

🔴  Aldeburgh VII (2011) 

Third in the series of boats on the beach at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

Silver wire and glass beads can be found on this work and and the medley of threads on the pebbles includes found rope fibres from the beach in Aldeburgh.

This image is available as a limited edition print and greetings card.

🔴  Aldeburgh VIII (2011) 

Last in the series of boats on the beach at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

Vintage postage stamps feature on the flags and the boat has been 'stamped' with a resist ink to produce a subtle swirl effect. The medley of threads on the pebbles includes found rope fibres from the beach in Aldeburgh along with petticoat netting and beads.

This image is available as a limited edition print or greeting card.

Prom 

This is a fun digital and mixed media celebration of my late Caramel Point Siamese cat Prom (Prom's given name was Prometheus - but who is going to shout that from their back door?!) 

Prom had a cute way of sitting that displays his tummy - and I managed to get a series of shots to enable the creation of a tryptich of works. 

This image is available as greetings card.

🔴  Regatta Rowers, Marlow (2010) 

This mixed media picture features my home town Marlow-on-Thames.  There are lots of different elements and media used in this work and you really need to get up close to discover them all! 

The suspension bridge in Marlow (built 1829-1832) was designed by William Tierney-Clark (1783-1852).  He also designed the bridge linking Buda and Pest in Hungary (built 1839).  The vests of the rowers are a vintage postage stamp of this 'twin' bridge in Budapest - a serendipitous find in a random bag of stamps bought in a charity shop in Surrey!  A mono print technique was used for the water and the sky is a traditional watercolour.  The trees in the background are a vintage map of Marlow.

This picture was exhibited in Marlow Art and Craft Society's exhibition in 2010 and was runner up for both the the Newton Taylor Cup (voted for by peers) and Nationwide Anglia Tray (voted for by visitors).

The image is now available as a limited edition print and greetings card.

Regatta Girls I

This work is a development of the picture that was chosen for the 2009 Marlow Town Festival and Regatta programme.

The bridge and rowing club are hand drawn and combined with digital elements, including a vintage map of Marlow and collaged papers. 

Do you like the girls frocks? - they are made of Kath Kidson tissues!

This image is available as a limited edition print and greetings card.

Regatta Girls II

This work is a variation of the Regatta Girls I work to celebrate Marlow's links with Marly-le-Roi.

The bridge and rowing club are hand drawn and combined with digital elements, including a vintage map of Marly-le-Roi (Marlow's twin town in France) and collaged papers. 

The girls frocks in this picture are made from Jenni Bowlin scrapbook papers.

This image is available as a limited edition print and greetings card.

🔴  Albert, Southwold 

Southwold in Suffolk is perhaps my favourite place in the UK.  At the end of Gunn Cliff there are a number of painted huts directly on the beach.  These are often referred to as the 'Royal Huts' because of their names and are one of the most photographed features of the town.

'Albert' is one such hut.  In this collage work I have added a 3-dimensional quality with fabric bunting on a wire to give a more whimsical seaside feel to the work.  The work is mounted in a white box frame to accommodate this.

 The image is also available as a greeting card.

🔴  Victoria, Southwold  

A second in a series of three works inspired by the Royal Huts in Southwold.

Victoria is a dimensional collage work in a white box frame.  In this case seagulls have been added on thin wires and these 'move' if you gently tap the frame.

 The image is also available as a greeting card.

🔴  Queenie, Southwold 

The third in my series of works inspired by the Royal Huts in Southwold.

Queenie is located between 'Victoria' and 'Albert' on the beach and is also a dimensional collage work in a white box frame.  Seagulls have been added on thin wires and these 'move' if you gently tap the frame.

The image is also available as a greeting card.