lildil
Light plays a very important role in my photography and in my paintings. I try to make the most of the cleverly changing colours and shapes that it creates. Sometimes these moments of light are seen only fleetingly, sometimes they linger for hours. When the magical combination of light, scene and camera or brush come together anything is possible.
I love shooting landscapes with my wide angle lens but I have always loved portraiture; I like to be in control at all times; for me photography is not a quick medium.
I am awestruck by the landscape that we so often ignore (and mistreat). In it lies majestic beauty, dramatic moments and light that make us gasp with the ability it has to make colours glow and shadows dance. In Landscape photography I like to use or place the camera in ways that as a human we would not be able to view the scene or landscape. By this method some of the photographs are as much a surprise to me as to you, the viewer.
In portraiture I also like to play with light by making the most of natural light or creating my own in the studio or on location. I have always been inspired by cinematography, especially from the 1940's; there is nothing more perfectly lit than a scene with Greta Garbo, Marlene Deitrich or Lauren Bacall, they are like beautiful paintings in their use of patchwork lighting, cleverly disguised as natural light. I have also been inspired by Magnum photographers and behind the scenes smudgers who can capture natural expressions on models that have become at ease with the camera. Some portrait photographers I find very inspiring but it is always the lighting that I admire first. I try to come close to that beautifully sculpted light in my own work and continue to strive for it.
Photography became a passion in 1987 when my careers teacher insisted that 'artist' was not a vocational career she could send me on work experience for. After she had left me with a list of alphabetical careers I got as far as P! Two weeks of life changing experience later and I had signed up for evening classes in photography.
To cut a long story short after completing more work experience and A-levels I headed off to Brighton to do a foundation, to Norwich School of Art to do a Fine Art degree (specialising in painting where I mostly did photography!) and embarked upon being an 'artist' after graduation. I had a few exhibitions and curated some myself but after two years I was started on a career in commercial photography that lasted 10 years. In 2004 I decided to change my career again, completed a PGCE and became an art and photography teacher. In 2015 I went into middle leadership running a busy Art department in an HMC school. In 2025 I left teaching to concentrate on my own creative practice and find a better balance between creativity and income. After 21 years in teaching it was time to bring my creativity back home.
Photographic exhibition work is often printed in unique ways that re-capture traditional printing methods such as polaroid image transfer or emulsion lift. Using my own methods and combining digital techniques I can create images that are unrepeatable, each one being completely unique. Ordinary digital prints on acid free paper, canvas, mounted or framed etc are always available but creating these unique pieces comes the closest to the fine art painting and traditional photography that I fell in love with as a teenager.
Paintings are often experimental and I am not precious about whether I know if they will be successful. I use painting to express myself emotionally, mentally and physically. My paintings are often more in-depth in their meaning than my photography.
Photography and Painting are still my passion, long may it continue, but I have also been exploring Videography which I will share soon. Do you know what I've loved doing? Playing with light, of course.
