My thoughts often spiral and can feel out of control, however when I really look at something, when it captures my attention, the thought stops and I become present. I find what I am looking at and the feeling of being present so captivating I want to look further, really explore and investigate it, which is what I do through drawing.

I am most drawn to faces; however, it is not the face that interests me but the textures, how the light falls on it, the different tones created and most recently the colours. I draw from reference photos of strangers, photos that possess these qualities rather than trying to capture them myself as that is another art field all together. I also like how the subjects of my drawing are strangers to me and people who see my drawing. It is not about the sitter but about form.

I create my drawings by dividing the photo and my paper into squares, masking them off, so I can only see the square I am looking at and the square I am drawing. It lets me focus on pure form as either tone or texture, to really see and become present. Drawing the squares one at a time and working with smaller squares allows me to work around my daughter.

“The aim of my drawing stopped being about making it look perfect but about just being able to draw. My drawing is not only a tool for my mindfulness but also a record of time, how I am feeling and how well I can focus, it allows for imperfections”

My outlook is always ‘to just try it’. I’ve tried loads of different things from painting in oils to starting a YouTube channel and they failed. When I have failed, I’ve learnt something, and it puts me on the right path. When I succeed, I’ve done something I did not think I could do, such as running an international open call for drawing artists. Each time I have succeeded, it has given me more confidence to try other new things.

What is your definition of artistic success?

In 2023 I won the Comme Ca Art X AWOL Studios Open Call Exhibition. The piece I entered was the first drawing I completed using the methods I’ve spoken about in this interview; drawing squares in isolation, around motherhood. The drawing is full of mismatched tones and variation in quality, but it is an honest representation of motherhood and how I was feeling. I won the award at a very poignant time, my maternity leave had finished, and I quit my professional job I had been at for 11 years due to the cost of childcare, this felt like a sign I was on the right path.

Being a winner for the Visual Artists Association International Scholarship and Exhibition prize was a big accomplishment. The tools and feedback that has come with it, have really helped me and taken my work in a new, more professional direction.

In March one of my drawings was selected to be in the Society of Graphic Fine Art, 104th Annual Open Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London. Exhibiting in such a prestigious gallery has always been a lifelong ambition. Being included alongside amazing artists in such a long running drawing exhibition was also something I proud of.

I am very passionate about drawing and promoting drawing, which leads me on to another accomplishment, the Drawing (Paper) Show, which I co-founded with Sarah Jane Richards and Jon Barraclough (co-founder of the Drawing Paper). The project involves an international open call for drawing artists to exhibit during the Liverpool Biennial at the Bridewell Studios and Gallery and feature in an issue of the Drawing Paper. You can find out more about this here www.drawingpapershow.com @drawingpapershow

What are the biggest obstacles you’ve faced when improving your arts profession? What’s the one piece of advice that has helped you the most?

To continue my practice around motherhood. I want to show that being a parent can have a positive effect on a creative practice, as well as posing challenges. This is why I started @artist_parent, an Instagram account dedicated to showing the work and sharing the stories, via interviews, of artist parents, grandparents and caregivers.

The VAA guides have been so helpful, even just knowing they are there to look something up when you need. There are also guides with information that I didn’t know I needed to know. However, the most useful part of the VAA for me has been the Portfolio review which was part of the Scholarship prize. It was with Shirley-Ann, VAA Director, who really knows her stuff. It helped me to see my work in a new way and take it in a new direction that I did not think was possible.

Is there anything you would like to say to the artist you were a year ago?