My recent work centres around two themes: the image of the lonely beauty queen and images of contemporary young women. The beauty queens and the young women are seen up close as if they are caught out. They gaze – often at the viewer – with a look that is both tense and vulnerable.
The beauty queen is a metaphor for certain aspects of women’s lives. My attitude to 'dressing up' is ambiguous. On the one hand, I love the glitz but I am also aware of the intrusion to self of being 'viewed'. The beauty queens wear crowns and sashes but otherwise look fairly ordinary, caught in a moment away from the audience looking wary, and even tired or bored.
I paint in oil and acrylic and take photographs. I exhibit widely. Prices range from £80 for smaller work on paper to £450. Occasional commissions taken. I belong to Loughborough ArtSpace and the Association of Leicestershire Artists. I also teach art to adults.
