A Bit About Me & My Work
As a medium photography allows me time to experiment and be creative post-edit. I believe the post-process is as much a part of the creative outcome as the shoot itself. I've learned to be curious and patient through my creative practice. Preparation paves the way for each shoot, but it does not confine me to a static outcome. Often I am surprised as I go, making new discoveries. Flowers have a mind and personality of their own, they have personality, so I remind myself to stay inquisitive while creating.
I work with seasonal and dry arrangements, carefully hand selected for each piece. I match my compositions with props that either form an aesthetic vision or speak into a theme. Sometimes my written work harmonises with the image and other times I use the image to contrast a message. My backdrop is handmade by me and emotes the feel of an aged Tuscan wall. I love to work with natural light and play with shadows to evoke a Dutch Old Masters feel.
My Old Masters art crushes are Rachel Ruysch and Jan van Huysum. Unlike many still life artists of the time who featured dead animals and props which point to our mortality, Rachel and Jan's works are a celebration of florals and life. Jan's works seem almost in motion, a scene breathing before you.
A Photographer With A Pen
Craft
"Art exists to make us taste the eternal"
- Cezanne
Communication
My work brings together theology, still-life photography, and reflective writing. Studying at Oxford has given me language for what I have long sensed, that beauty can reveal something of God’s presence in a world that is often bewildering. Theodicy is not only an academic theme for me. It is a lived question, shaping how I watch for light and how I write about hope.
I believe words and images form the interior landscape of our lives. The creative arts can speak where straightforward explanations fail, drawing us towards what is most human and most longed for. Whether I photograph an abundant arrangement or a single dried stem, the task is the same: to notice where life persists.
Beauty is not a distraction from sorrow but a quiet witness against despair. It reminds us that delight and wonder are part of what we were made for, and that even in uncertainty we are not alone.
Connection
I want to remind you that you are human, not a machine. The main focus of my creative work is to invite you the viewer into a moment of stillness, beauty and contemplation in contrast to the frenetic rhythms of daily life. A desire to prompt an awareness of connectivity is at the centre of my art. I hope the viewer experiences a sense of peace and known-ness or is stirred to deep reflection.
"To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work"
- Mary Oliver
Community
Community connection is also dear to my heart. Through my monthly e-magazine The Beagle For Beauty, I provide a safe space for conversation within the membership. We are curious and open. Doubt is not seen as a flaw but a bridge to a deeper understanding. No topic is off-limits. Previously we've discussed such things as; difficulty in marriage, parenting children with special needs, surviving religious trauma, mental health and mid-life crisis. I share thought provoking ideas each edition, along with original still life projects, recommendations for books, poetry, recipes, TV & Film, and a curated playlist. I love receiving emails and messages from Beagle readers. Although I have a social media presence, my heart is to connect more personally this way. I'm building a community rather than a platform.
Let's Get
Social
