About

I am an Illustrator and Surface Pattern Designer based in Sydney.

I was born and raised in England, moving to Australia in my early twenties. Since my childhood I have loved to draw and as a young girl, was surrounded by paper, pencils, paints and so much inspiration thanks to my Artist mother, who used to set up still life studies for me on our dining table, with flowers, driftwood and other treasures, scavenged from nature.

A lot of my ideas come from my imagination, having always loved story-telling and the magical and whimsical. I have always been hugely inspired by unique styles of animation, paper art, artists books and story books.

As a child I adored my picture books, and remember having a set of stories called ‘The Garden Gang’ which had been written and illustrated by a nine year old girl, Jayne Fisher. This was so inspirational to me and I promptly set about writing and illustrating my own story which I boldly sent to Penguin publishers (my first rejection, aged 8!) That may be many years ago now, but the passion for this beautiful art form has never left me, and illustration has become my way of expressing my own whimsical themes.

As somebody with a fine arts background, I always loved working on large sheets of paper in charcoal, and also spent many years trying to master the alchemical process of etching. Nowadays with limited time and space my working method involves firstly drawing, usually in pencil, then scanning in my drawings and refining them through Adobe Photoshop.

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Background Notes

I completed a Bachelor of Creative Studies, specialising in drawing and installation at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. A few years after moving to Australia I completed a Master of Art in drawing and printmaking at the College of Fine Arts, Sydney, in 2005. Since 2017, I have actively pursued many online courses in illustration and surface pattern design, through the renowned Make Art That Sells, and Make it in Design Schools.

SELECT CLIENTS

My Clients include:

  • La La Land

  • Australia Post

  • Berbay Books

  • Mideer Toys

  • Hare Raising Wines

Awards


2020: First Prize in Advanced Track, and Highly Commended for Make it in Design Winter School Online Global Design Challenge.

2019: First Prize in Intermediate Track for Make it in Design Winter School, Global Online Design Challenge.

2006: First Prize: Great Ports of Australia Painting Prize; Adsteam Marine Shipping Industry Dinner (Selected from ten finalists)

2006: First Prize: Propeller Art & Design Awards, God in the City, Sydney