I studied fine art and printmaking at Colchester school of art and but then got sucked into the world of full-time work and mortgage payments and pursued a career in university administration.

Early retirement followed by part-time work has allowed me more time to spend on printmaking. I started going to St. Barnabus Press in Cambridge in order to renew my skills and have taken part in Cambridge Open Studios since 2015. I also took part in the “Cambridge Original Printmakers Biennale 2016” in an exhibition at the Pitt Building in Cambridge.

I have always preferred to draw directly onto the lino block and use it as a piece of paper rather than tracing designs as I feel the result is more immediate. I have always used the multiple block method of printing for colour prints rather than the reduction method (using multiple cutting and printing from the same block).

I recently decided that I wanted to do some more delicate looking colour prints. I did this by using multiple blocks and overprinting colours and heavily adding extender to the printing ink to make the final result more translucent.I also do not completely cut away all the I lino on areas where I am removing it but leave small areas behind to overprint and add to the layers.

There have been two consistent strands to my work; the first one being a long term interest in reflecting the natural world and the second being a desire ­­­­­­to show people in a state of heightened emotion. Some of my recent prints have been of dragonflies and butterflies. They are evocative of those fleeting, perfect memories of Summer and the fragility of life.“Dragonfly on Bramble” is designed to resemble a watercolour and pencil sketch with the main block printed in a graphite colour.“Two Butterflies on a Flower” is intended to look like a watercolour painting.I am currently working on a number of black and white images of people.

I generally start with an approximate image in my head although sometimes I just scribble on the block in pencil and it starts from there. For me, it is all about expressing emotion.