About Me
About me
My interests are diverse and my art activities reflect this. My muses are my interactions with the countryside and the wildlife we share it with. I like to have a camera with me. I use it like a sketch pad and note book. But I always try to have a sketch pad as well.
I have been heavily involved in bat research, surveys, training, and promoting an awareness of bats and their need for protection but I have also attended print making courses and took an MA in Fine Art Printmaking at Aberystwyth School of Art.
Throughout my life I have been drawn to express experiences visually. This has included sculpture, painting, illustration and print making. I have a strong interest in science, in particular ecology and biology. I see a similarity in Art and Science as both are concerned with observation, and the need to produce an interpretation that helps improve my understanding of an object or experience that can be shared with others. I am fascinated by people, the countryside, landscape, the marine and aquatic worlds and the wildlife that inhabit them.
Past
Before coming to Wales I was a freelance illustrator and a significant part of my output was assisting the pioneering educational section of Calder Park Zoo, Glasgow, now closed. From that I realised it would be useful to have a broader understanding of the reprographic industry and I applied to Dyfed College of Art to study Wildlife Illustration.
I also wanted a respite from trying to earn a living while developing my skills. As a result of taking up the course I moved to south west Wales.
While pursuing my studies I discovered greater horseshoe bats were in the area and started what has become a significant distraction. Fortunately when I completed the course I found a nursery roost and as it was at that time only one of six known in the UK. I became involved it its intensive study. This took the form of two years full time work. Part of that required counting the number of young being born into the colony an effective way of establishing the status of small populations. The number of adults exiting a roost can vary, for a number of reasons, but the young tend to be left and do not fluctuate. I continue with this monitoring as indicated in the Greater Horseshoe section.