I have been painting plants for about ten years and exhibit work in galleries throughout Scotland and England, including the McEwan Gallery, Ballater, the Anthony Woodd Gallery in Edinburgh as well as at the occasional RHS show. This year I had five works accepted for the Society of Botanical Artist's Silver Jubilee Exhibition exhibition at Westminster Central Hall, London, 16th April - 25th April. I was awarded a Certficate of Botanical Merit and highly commended for the Joyce Cumming Award for my drawing of a Scots thistle seedhead. To read more about this years SBA show vist the Making a Mark blog.
In 2004 I undertook further study of my subject material and graduated with a BSc Honours in Biology in 2006. For my thesis I carried out a study on visual floral signalling in Parnassia palustris and Phacelia campanularia. During my studies I was worked in the University's Cruickshank Botanical Garden. I have been awarded two RHS Silver Medas for work exhibited at the RHS Gardeners World Live Exhibitions; in 2006, for a collection of native plants from the Cruickshank Garden, and in 2008 for studies of reproductive mechanisms in flowers, inspired by the work of Arthur Harry Church. In 2007 my work was included in the Hunt Institute's Society for Botanical Documentation 12th International exhibition, Pittsburgh, USA.
I work in watercolour on paper or vellum and grow most of my own subject material at home on the Banffshire coast in north east Scotland . In 2009 decided to undertake a Diploma in Botanical Art with the SBA, some of my course work can be viewed on my blog. My place on the course was part funded by a personal development grant from the Banff and Buchan Arts Forum.