In my natural habitat, walking the shore at Big Sand, with the island of Longa on the horizon.
About
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I have taken a somewhat circuitous route to what I do now. In the past, I have been a research fellow in fish biology, translator (fish biology books from French to English), an editor, scientific programme manager, teaching fellow (marine biology), mandolin player in a ceilidh band (for fun) and e-learning adviser (computer-aided learning for medical students). A zoology graduate, I retain a keen interest in the natural world; I believe that this is reflected in my artwork, particularly my photographs.
I live on the northwest coast of Scotland with my husband and dog. Art |
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I have drawn and painted all my life, on and off. I now work in a variety of media, including watercolour, acrylic, mixed media and printmaking. I love doing quick sketches in situ, weather permitting.
From 2010-2015, I attended a weekly watercolour class at Udny Green, organised by Tolquhon Gallery, and tutored by the inimitable Donald Murray. Between 2015 and 2018 I attended art classes run by Mike Samson in Aberdeen. I took part in North East Open Studios from 2011-2019 inclusive; initially in my own back garden studio and latterly at the Phoenix Centre at Newton Dee in Bieldside, alongside other artists and makers. Over the winter of 2023-2024 I attended the Art Portfolio Course run by Bridge House Art in Ullapool. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me, especially with acrylics and printmaking. It was a wonderful experience, I highly recommend it. WritingI began writing creatively in 2010, starting with an online creative writing class and then joining Deeside Writers' Group the same year. I'm now a (sporadic) member of Gairloch Writers' Group. I mainly write short stories, but also produce poetry. I have self-published two volumes of short stories and one book of collected poems.
I've had a short story published in the northeast literary magazine, "Pushing out the Boat" and received a highly commended award for another, from the Scottish Association of Writers. In October 2019, I had a short story, "Valentine" published in the autumn/winter issue of Northwords Now. A number of my stories have been broadcast (with me as the reader) on the local radio station, Two Lochs Radio, as part of their "Voices" monthly Westwords programme. Some of my very short stories are available within my blog. More recently, I've had 'The Campervan Song' published in the local fortnightly newsletter, the Gairloch & District Times. |
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Photography
I have been taking photos for a long time. I started with a Pentax SLR film camera many years ago. More recently I have moved into the digital age, firstly using "point and shoot" cameras, then a slightly more sophisticated one (a "bridge" camera) with a great zoom and now a digital SLR. I am not a "techie", when it comes to cameras.
The two photos of me taking photos were taken by my daughter. She is a textile designer and photographer, a graduate in Textile Design of Heriot Watt University (Galashiels campus).
I have a portfolio of photographs online on the Photo4me website.
The two photos of me taking photos were taken by my daughter. She is a textile designer and photographer, a graduate in Textile Design of Heriot Watt University (Galashiels campus).
I have a portfolio of photographs online on the Photo4me website.
Music
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In the late 1990's a friend persuaded me to go along, clutching my ancient fiddle, to traditional music classes, specifically for adults. This opened up a whole new world to me, and introduced me to people who I am happy to now call friends. The classes were, and still are, run by Scottish Culture and Traditions (SC&T). In about 2005 I started playing the mandolin, which I enjoy playing at local music sessions and with friends. I played in the Dark Island ceilidh band for a number of years, fiddle and mandolin and also calling the dances. From 2015-2019 I attended "Band Alchemy" classes, taken by the wonderful Davy Cattanach at SC&T, where we mainly played and arranged tunes that we had written. Two of my tunes have been published in "The Aberdeen Collection", a tunebook of over 250 tunes written by tunesmiths from or with a connection to, Aberdeen. I continue to write traditional tunes and have recorded a few which are available to listen to on SoundCloud. |