I am a self taught artist specialising in pastels and charcoal after starting out with graphite and coloured pencils. Pastels are a wonderful medium, vibrant and soft and in pencil form, actually very clean. I am also currently learning to paint in acrylics and oils so I may be adding them to my portfolio in the near future.

After making a mess on a lovely cream carpet in the living room, I was gently moved into the garage (it was turned into a studio) but after beginning to offer private tuition, I now use a purpose built log cabin and dedicated art space which I open several times a year to the public as part of art trails in the local area.

I exhibit and demonstrate regularly with the Herefordshire Guild of Craftsmen and we attend some wonderful shows every year. Sadly Covid-19 has kept us all home for quite some time but we hope to be out and about soon!

I use many brands of pencils, Derwent, Stabilo, Pitts, Caran D'ache, Conte a Paris and don't find one better than any other however they all have different shades so it's great to have a range to choose from. I only use those which are listed as fully lightfast to ensure my artwork will not fade.

I just love panpastels. I still sometimes use pastel sticks but being able to apply panpastels with sponges and brushes allows me to cover big areas in a short time and the blending ability of them is suited to my artwork.

I use this paper 99% of the time. It comes in many shades and allows multiple layers of pastel to be added without the nap being filled up too quickly. I use anthracite, sienna and brown shades most and buy sheets in bulk which I can cut to size.