Born in 1981, I grew up in North Yorkshire. As a child I never knew that I would end up working as an illustrator, but always knew that I wanted to be an artist! From a very young age I discovered I was good at drawing and would often create my own games made from paper, and loved to draw animals and people.
I enjoy many aspects of art including ceramics, graphics, painting and drawing. I experimented with many different medias and techniques at art college, which gave me a chance to discover which field I wanted to specialise in. From college I enrolled onto a graphic design course, but working mainly with computers left me feeling unfulfilled and I soon realised that I wanted to pick up my pens and paintbrushes again! At this time I decided to dedicate all my energy and ideas into my artwork and focus my work on illustration - and have never looked back!
I studied Design: Illustration at the North Wales School of Art, where I gained my BA (hons) Degree in 2003. I became interested in wildlife art, and based my dissertation research on Wildlife Art & Conservation. My interest in this area has grown ever since and is now a huge influence on my story writing.
After graduating I worked part-time as an illustrator and gained commissions from a number of publishers. I was lucky enough to have my first picture book, Clever Chameleon, published in 2005 by Barefoot Books.
In 2005, I returned to the North Wales School of Art to study towards my Masters Degree in Illustration for Children, and graduated from the course in 2007. My postgraduate study allowed me to take the time to develop my artwork further, experimenting with different formats outside the boundaries of a picture book. The subject of my research was Helping Children to Learn to Read (Aged 3-5years) and Creative Learning. I also used the course to help me focus on my story writing - an area I wish to develop further in the future.
I now enjoy working from home as an illustrator specialising in creating artwork for picture books, and other types of books for children. When I am not working on a commissioned project I spend my time writing my own stories and artwork for potential new projects. I generally have a number of self-directed projects on the go at any one time, and am constantly striving to improve my artwork and expand my portfolio.