Paintings and drawings from nature.
I was born and raised in Brighton, my mother’s family was from rural Sussex and my father’s from a farm in Poland. I now live on the Berkshire Oxfordshire border with several cats and hens.
I have always enjoyed drawing and painting things in the world around me and, having spent most of my life in medical research, in 2007 I decided step sideways and paint full time. I now think of myself as a professional artist, specialising in botanical art and illustration. I use mainly the “dry brush” watercolour technique, learned at Kew and with Annie Farrer. I have had a lifelong interest in ancient texts, particularly early and medieval Northern European literature – the Icelandic sagas, Beowulf, the stories of Merlin and King Arthur. Through these writings I became aware that our links with the plant world range throughout time and human experience, a concept which is reflected in much of my work.
My latest project stems from a trip to the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland in search of the Ogham stones. They are often set in wild places or churchyards and are inscribed with personal dedications carved in the Ogham alphabet. They represent the earliest written form of the Irish language, composed of series of straight horizontal or diagonal lines, and formed the basis for the Celtic Tree Calendar, with each letter being named after a tree.
I have exhibited my work in several Open Houses at Brighton Festival and locally in Caversham and more of my work can be seen on my website. www.seaandhillandwood.co.uk
(Photos updated March 2012)
