I was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. As a child and young woman, my major passion was drawing and painting and I seriously considered pursuing a career as an artist. However, this was the age of abstract art rather than realism, and a tutor at a local art college was sufficiently dismissive of my work so as to persuade me to take the academic route instead. 

I subsequently qualified and practiced as a solicitor and, following the birth of my eldest son, turned to the educational field, training the next generation of lawyers. I lectured, on a part-time basis, initially in London, and then at the College of Law in Guildford for almost 13 years.

During much of this period, although I did take up my pencils and brushes from time to time, my creative side was stifled. In the summer of 2008, I started to paint again in earnest, discovered soft pastels, and the passion was reignited.  In July 2011, my desire to paint faces and to capture something of the essence of the human condition led me leave the College of Law in order to paint on a full time basis. I know this is the path I have to tread and I consider myself lucky to have been given this opportunity. 

I live in Woking, Surrey, with my husband, three children and a dim-witted but adorable cocker spaniel.