People often ask me what I do
and it's a difficult question to answer because I do lots of things. I usually respond with 'I am learning to illustrate plants' – a journey I began back in 2003 whilst studying botany at university. A few years on and I am still learning and I probably will be for the rest of my life. It's a skill that always needs refinement.
I am fascinated by botanical illustration because it satisfies my broad interest in life; it combines all my disciplines into one channel. I like examining work by other artists and I find it satisfying completing my own work. I enjoy the challenge of depicting something as accurately as I can, at the same time as capturing its essence. I admire the fact that botanical illustration celebrates life in all its forms, from the subject, to the painter to the reader.
I have been working as a gallery assistant in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew since March 2010. Prior to joining Kew, I worked in natural history as a curator at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery where I spent two years compiling a touring exhibition of the herbarium and mineral collections of Sir John St Aubyn (1759-1839). I am currently working towards a diploma in botanical illustration with the Society of Botanical Artists.
