I have many wonderful memories of creative moments from my childhood. My father enjoyed painting; mostly children set against rolling hills and boats at sea. The canvases were taller than me and the paintings seemed to be enormous to me then. At around the age of 8 I clearly remember transforming a lump of concrete into an exotic island by rubbing all manner of green leaves & vibrant petals over the grey mass until it was alive with colour!

My mother’s homeland of Northern Italy is where I would enjoy my summers as a child; in the deep countryside and along the Mediterranean coast and at home in Surrey it was my parents’ habit to get out to the coast or countryside almost every weekend. As a result my memories and interaction with nature as I grew up has played a significant part in nurturing my creativity.

At the age of 18 I spent a year travelling around Europe where images of the sea and sky, particularly in Turkey and the Greek islands, were so spectacular. I was mesmerised by the ever-changing beauty of colours and shapes that these scenes presented to me. Pinks, reds, blues, orange and purple skies and seas, and all shades of blue and green waters that were constantly moving. I would sit for hours watching the changing light and images.

I returned to Surrey and for the next 12 years I commuted into London making my career in Sales and Marketing. I absolutely loved it, absorbing myself totally into the heart of London life; I particularly enjoyed my years spent in the film industry.

I love people and my environment created a perfect opportunity for me to meet and interact with all sorts of different people. During this time my creative spirit found a release in Interior Design, whereupon I attended an evening course at a London college and became totally fascinated by colour.

A little later on I met my husband who is an Architect and keen photographer. In 1991 I began playing around with his camera and quickly developed a real love for photography. This progressed and I have now had in excess of 400 photographic designs commissioned and published by Greeting Card companies.

The photographic work, which I do for pure pleasure, revolves around my two girls, the sea, sky and landscapes that are magically transformed by the sun. I am also drawn to abstract forms of colour – moving in close to find the simple beauty in shape and colour. This could literally be anything! In this manner I did some close-up photographs of Agate stone slices and was moved by the translucent vibrancy of colour and the natural flow of abstract design. This inspired me to paint onto glass, where the translation of light, movement and colour in my work is perfectly expressed.

At the beginning of 2001 I received an enormously encouraging response from a number of Fine Art publishers. At this stage I was presented with a choice of directions, however, the only company I wanted to work with was Washington Green and now that my confidence had been raised I approached Washington Green with both my photographic work and my paintings on glass – with a very happy ending!

Essentially I am inspired by the creativity in me, both the need and desire to fulfil myself creatively makes me who I am.

A great source of my inspiration lies in the different shades of light on the landscapes and I am drawn to the sea again and again. The light, colours and shapes in the sky totally absorb me. The element of movement in these images never fails to make a powerful impression on me and greatly inspires me to translate this movement into my paintings.
These sights stir my spirit and evoke strong emotions within me as I meet with Gods’ creation. The solid and steady presence of my Christian faith inspires me and results in a strong sense of love and spirituality being expressed in my work. Thus the colours and movement in my paintings remain alive.

My family also inspire me and whilst out and about together my two girls eagerly set off to discover all that is around them in nature. Their constant cries of “look mummy” never tire me – “look at the sky; these grasses; at this little flower; the colour of the water”……. It is so fantastic and a privilege to ‘see’ through their eyes and hearts of wonder.
The idea of painting onto glass was born from the wonderful glass quality of Agate stone slices, which when held up to the light, the colours and abstract shapes take on a new vibrant life.

I am inspired by the joy and delight experienced when painting and by the method of my work, by the movement of paint – the colours excite me and the light through the glass makes the colour and movement almost dance together. This is perfectly represented in the beautiful prints that Washington Green produce on my behalf.

To help retain images I use my camera, as well as what I have stored away in my minds’ eye. I always have a clear perception of what I want to paint and before I begin I spread out any number of my photographs, or maybe use just one where I have successfully captured a movement that I want to translate and build upon.

Using a number of techniques, which I sometimes experiment with as I go along, I work fast using bold brush strokes or literally pouring the paint out directly from the bottle onto the glass. The piece of glass I paint onto sits on top of a light box so I never need to rely on natural light.
I love to spread and mix the colours, and apart from using brushes I blow onto the paint and pick the glass up, gently moving it around whilst holding it in different directions depending on how I want to move and mix the paint.

Each painting is unique in the sense that whilst in progress I am never quite certain where the movement of paint will finally rest. I organise my working days around my family life, so a lot of organising takes place in order to get the space to paint.Once Leah and Katarina, my daughters, are at school I set myself up. Then just before I paint I always pray, this comes naturally to me, fulfilling my basic need for the Lord’s presence in me and in my work and simply committing to Him all that I do. This done, I tune into some soul sounds giving me the perfect backdrop to work against.

Once started, I get completely and utterly absorbed. I lose all sense of time and get so immersed that I generally forget about lunch so I have to set the alarm for 2.30pm to remind me to rejoin the rest of the world and pick the children up at 3pm (not forgetting to grab something to eat as I fly out of the door). When I finish painting, I am physically drained, but mentally and spiritually I’m on a high, which is extremely fulfilling.
After that, my time belongs to the girls and I am caught up with running them around to their after-school activities. I always like to cook an evening meal for my family – that’s the Italian in me!

Finally, when the girls settle for bed and my husband, Nesa, is home it’s time to unwind with a good glass of red wine and enjoy some adult conversation!